Act! vs HubSpot: Complete Comparison (2026)
An in-depth comparison of Act! and HubSpot to help you choose the right tool for your business.
Last updated: November 2026
Act!
5.4/10
Act! is a long-running CRM with contact management, sales pipelines and built-in marketing automation, sold to small and midsize businesses in cloud and Windows desktop editions.
HubSpot
6.9/10
HubSpot is a CRM platform with a free tier and paid per-seat Sales Hub plans, plus companion marketing and service hubs, aimed at small and mid-sized businesses.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 5.4/10 | 6.9/10 |
| Customization | 7/10 | 6/10 |
| Analytics | 4/10 | 7/10 |
| Integration | 5/10 | 9/10 |
| Support | 6/10 | 6/10 |
| Ease of Use | 5/10 | 8/10 |
| Security | 5/10 | 7/10 |
| Cost | 6/10 | 5/10 |
| Scalability | 4/10 | 7/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Cheapest paid plan | $30/user/mo Act! Premium Cloud | $20/user/mo Sales Hub Starter |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | $300/mo Act! Premium Cloud | $200/mo Sales Hub Starter |
| Features | ||
| Contact Management | ||
| Customer Support Management | ||
| Integrations | ||
| Marketing Automation | ||
| Mobile Access | ||
| Opportunity Management | ||
| Reporting & Analytics | ||
| Sales Automation | ||
| Built-in Calling | Not listed | |
| Lead Management | Not listed | |
Act! vs HubSpot cost by team size
HubSpot costs less at every team size we checked.
| Team size | Act! | HubSpot |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | $30/moAct! Premium Cloud | FreeFree |
| 5 users | $150/moAct! Premium Cloud | $100/moSales Hub Starter |
| 10 users | $300/moAct! Premium Cloud | $200/moSales Hub Starter |
| 25 users | $750/moAct! Premium Cloud | $500/moSales Hub Starter |
| 50 users | $1,500/moAct! Premium Cloud | $1,000/moSales Hub Starter |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose Act!
- Higher Customization score (7/10 vs 6/10)
- Higher Cost score (6/10 vs 5/10)
Why choose HubSpot
- Has a free plan (Act! does not)
- Lower estimated cost for 10 users: $200/mo vs $300/mo
- Higher Integration score (9/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Analytics score (7/10 vs 4/10)
- Better fit for startups (8/10 vs 5/10)
Pros & Cons
Act!
Pros
- Contact management is detailed and copes with large contact databases and big imports.
- A desktop and hybrid deployment allows offline work, which most cloud-only CRMs do not offer.
- Basic marketing automation is included in Premium, with drip campaigns, lead scoring and web visitor tracking.
- Fields and sales processes are highly customisable.
- Mobile apps for iOS and Android are included at no extra cost for Premium Cloud subscribers.
Cons
- Reviewers describe the interface as dated and dense, comparable to older Windows software.
- Pipeline and profit reporting is a recurring complaint, and the date-based pipeline can hide open deals.
- Users report freezing and slowness, especially with remote databases.
- There is no native Mac desktop app.
- Enhanced support and several capabilities cost extra on top of the per-user fee.
HubSpot
Pros
- The free CRM has no time limit and covers contacts, deals, tickets, a shared inbox, a reporting dashboard and mobile apps.
- The HubSpot Marketplace lists over 2,000 integrations.
- Sales, marketing and service hubs share one customer database, so teams avoid syncing separate tools.
- G2 reviewers often praise the sales automation and how easy everyday use is.
Cons
- The free tier is now limited to two users and 1,000 contacts.
- Professional and Enterprise tiers require one-time onboarding fees of $1,500 to $7,000, depending on the hub.
- Reviewers report a steep price jump from Starter to Professional, and extra costs from marketing-contact tiers and credits.
- Reviewers cite annual contract lock-in and setup and administration complexity as recurring complaints.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
HubSpot scores higher on our CRM criteria: 6.9/10 against 5.4/10 for Act!. The largest gap is in Integration: 5/10 for Act! and 9/10 for HubSpot.
HubSpot costs less for 10 users: about $200/mo on its Sales Hub Starter plan, against about $300/mo on its Act! Premium Cloud plan for Act!, billed monthly.
HubSpot has a free plan; Act! does not list one.
HubSpot is the better fit for enterprise: we rate it 6/10 for them, against 3/10 for Act!.
