EspoCRM vs HubSpot: Complete Comparison (2026)
An in-depth comparison of EspoCRM and HubSpot to help you choose the right tool for your business.
Last updated: November 2026
EspoCRM
6.9/10
Open-source CRM for small and mid-sized businesses that can be self-hosted free or bought as a per-user cloud subscription.
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 | 6.9/10 | 6.9/10 |
| Customization | 9/10 | 6/10 |
| Analytics | 6/10 | 7/10 |
| Integration | 6/10 | 9/10 |
| Support | 5/10 | 6/10 |
| Ease of Use | 6/10 | 8/10 |
| Security | 6/10 | 7/10 |
| Cost | 9/10 | 5/10 |
| Scalability | 6/10 | 7/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Cheapest paid plan | €13/user/mo Basic | $20/user/mo Sales Hub Starter |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | Free Open Source (self-hosted) | $200/mo Sales Hub Starter |
| Features | ||
| Built-in Calling | ||
| Contact Management | ||
| Customer Support Management | ||
| Integrations | ||
| Marketing Automation | ||
| Opportunity Management | ||
| Reporting & Analytics | ||
| Sales Automation | ||
| Collaboration | Not listed | |
| Lead Management | Not listed | |
| Mobile Access | Not listed | |
EspoCRM vs HubSpot cost by team size
| Team size | EspoCRM | HubSpot |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | FreeOpen Source (self-hosted) | FreeFree |
| 5 users | FreeOpen Source (self-hosted) | $100/moSales Hub Starter |
| 10 users | FreeOpen Source (self-hosted) | $200/moSales Hub Starter |
| 25 users | FreeOpen Source (self-hosted) | $500/moSales Hub Starter |
| 50 users | FreeOpen Source (self-hosted) | $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 EspoCRM
- Higher Cost score (9/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Customization score (9/10 vs 6/10)
Why choose HubSpot
- Higher Integration score (9/10 vs 6/10)
- Higher Ease of Use score (8/10 vs 6/10)
- Better fit for marketing teams (8/10 vs 5/10)
- Better fit for enterprise (6/10 vs 4/10)
Pros & Cons
EspoCRM
Pros
- The Entity Manager lets administrators add custom entities, fields and relationships without writing code.
- Every cloud plan includes all official extensions at no extra cost, among them the Sales Pack, VoIP, Google, Outlook and Mailchimp.
- The free, self-hostable open-source core keeps costs very low for small teams.
- You own your database and files and can request copies, which limits lock-in.
- Hosting in Germany is available for teams that need GDPR-friendly data residency.
Cons
- Reviewers say the initial setup of entities, roles and automations takes time and some technical skill.
- G2 reviewers point to a steep learning curve and limited documentation.
- A few reviewers reported slower performance with large datasets.
- Cloud support runs only 12 hours a day, 5 days a week, and the vendor team is very small.
- Self-hosted users must pay for reporting and BPM through the Advanced Pack.
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
EspoCRM and HubSpot both score 6.9/10 on our CRM criteria. The largest gap is in Cost: 9/10 for EspoCRM and 5/10 for HubSpot.
Yes, both EspoCRM and HubSpot have a free plan.
HubSpot is the better fit for marketing teams: we rate it 8/10 for them, against 5/10 for EspoCRM.
