HubSpot vs Custom Software: The Growing Company's Dilemma
HubSpot is the best all-in-one CRM until the "all" starts costing more than the parts. Here's when custom becomes the smarter investment.
HubSpot's value proposition is convenience: one platform for CRM, marketing, sales, and service. That's genuinely valuable for early-stage companies who don't want to cobble together multiple tools.
The question is whether that convenience is worth $30,000-100,000/year when purpose-built alternatives exist. For growing companies, the answer is increasingly "no."
Where HubSpot Wins
Give credit where due:
All-in-One Convenience
CRM + marketing + sales + service in one login. Genuine time savings for small teams.
Free Tier
HubSpot Free is the best free CRM available. No strings attached for basic contact management.
Content + CRM Integration
Blog, landing pages, and forms that feed directly into CRM. Seamless for inbound marketing.
Academy and Community
Excellent educational content and a large user community for support.
Where Custom Wins
For growing companies:
Predictable Pricing
No per-contact pricing. No tier jumps. Your costs don't spike when your business succeeds.
Unlimited Customization
Custom objects, fields, and workflows without tier restrictions. Build exactly what you need.
Better Email Economics
Send 100K emails/month via SendGrid for ~$50 vs. $1,200+/month on HubSpot Marketing Pro.
Full Data Ownership
Your data, your infrastructure, your rules. No vendor dependency.
The Price Divergence Over Time
HubSpot costs scale with your team size and contact count. Custom costs are relatively fixed after the initial build.
Year 1: HubSpot ($30K) vs Custom ($70K). HubSpot wins on upfront cost.
Year 2: HubSpot ($40K — team grew, contacts grew) vs Custom ($15K — hosting + maintenance). Gap narrows.
Year 3: HubSpot ($55K — more contacts, considering Enterprise) vs Custom ($15K). Custom now significantly cheaper.
Year 5: HubSpot ($80K+) vs Custom ($15K). The gap is enormous. And you own the custom system outright.
The "Good Enough" Trap
HubSpot is "good enough" at everything. Good enough CRM, good enough email, good enough automation, good enough reporting. This is valuable when you're small and need convenience.
The trap: "good enough" means you're never getting great at anything. Your competitors with purpose-built tools have better email deliverability, faster CRM workflows, more insightful reporting, and more powerful automation. The convenience premium costs more than just money — it costs competitive advantage.
Hubspot vs Custom Software
| Feature | Hubspot | Custom Software |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per-user + per-contact tiers | One-time build + flat hosting |
| Year 1 cost (30 users, 50K contacts) | ~$30,000-45,000 | ~$65,000-95,000 |
| Year 3 cost (50 users, 100K contacts) | ~$55,000-80,000/year | ~$15,000/year |
| Custom objects | Enterprise only ($1,500/mo) | Unlimited (included) |
| Workflow limits | 300-1,000 depending on tier | Unlimited |
| Email cost (100K sends/mo) | ~$1,200+/mo (contact-based) | ~$50-100/mo (send-based) |
| Custom reporting | Professional tier required | Included |
| Feature access | Gated by pricing tier | All features available |
| Contract terms | Annual (Pro/Enterprise) | None (you own the code) |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is HubSpot really that expensive?
Doesn't all-in-one save time vs multiple tools?
What about HubSpot's partner ecosystem?
Should I stay on HubSpot Free and build custom for everything else?
Want to See the Real Numbers?
Book a free consultation. We'll calculate your projected HubSpot costs over 3 years and compare to a custom build. The numbers usually speak for themselves.