In the past few months, we have migrated several HubSpot customers over to Zoho CRM. In the process of speaking to our prospective customers, we encountered a few common concerns. So we created this blog post to address these concerns. If you are a customer looking for HubSpot alternatives or you are still deciding between the two, chances are you have one or more of the questions below. So read on to learn more about how Zoho CRM compares to HubSpot, what to expect in the migration process, and what various additional services are offered.
Why should I pay for Zoho CRM, if HubSpot CRM is free?
Let’s begin by addressing the elephant in the room. HubSpot CRM is free for unlimited users, and Zoho CRM is not. So why pay? For starters, Zoho CRM offers far more features. Well, sure, that’s to be expected in any free vs paid software comparison, you might say. However, with plans starting at $12 per user per month, the sheer magnitude of additional features you get—custom reports, lead scoring, and forecasting, to name a few—is well worth the investment. If you require these features from HubSpot, you will need to upgrade to HubSpot Sales Hub, which is a more full-fledged solution (albeit, not as much so as Zoho CRM) built onto HubSpot CRM. With plans starting at $40 (inclusive of 2 users), that’s a clear 40% difference right there. Cost savings can cross 75% for the higher editions.
On another note, while the promise of “free for unlimited users” certainly looks tempting on the surface, when you go into the fine print, some of HubSpot CRM’s feature limits are not too promising after all. For instance, you can save a maximum of five email templates or store up to five files in your document library. These feature limits are restrictive enough that they don’t make sense for any more than three users (the number of users, incidentally, supported in Zoho CRM’s free version). So, whichever way you look at it, with HubSpot CRM, you will have to pay up sooner or later—and our bet is on sooner.
How do the solutions compare feature-wise?
Zoho CRM’s feature set is far more comprehensive than HubSpot’s. Here are just a few things you can do only with Zoho CRM:
Create personalized customer journeys and analyze the performance of the processes involved
Find more opportunities for automation with an intelligent system that makes suggestions for workflows, macros, and more
Build wizards to streamline extensive data entry processes
Pull up critical reports and data with voice commands
Create branded self-service e-catalogues for your clients
Collaborate with partners for effective data exchange
With Zoho CRM, you can access a wide range of standard reports or build detailed custom reports using a range of visualization options. You can also create custom modules to reflect various elements of your sales process. With HubSpot, these features are available in limited capacity within the standard licenses, and you would need to purchase add-ons or APIs for more complex customization requirements. You also get handy features on the Zoho CRM mobile app like logging voice notes on the go or discovering nearby clients while you’re out in the field.
How long does the migration process take?
In terms of time, the migration process takes just two to three hours for standard setups. If you have a lot of customizations, it might take slightly longer, but it definitely won’t impede your sales processes.
In terms of effort, it is a simple API-based migration process which you can initiate yourself by following our ready-made documentation. If you would prefer, you can get support assistance for the process as well, since we provide free migration support.
Will the implementation and onboarding process hamper my sales team’s productivity?
Not at all. Having been a part of the industry for over 15 years, Zoho CRM is designed to be extremely intuitive and fits right into your sales team’s processes. The product has a very quick learning curve and enables your sales reps and admins to start enhancing your revenue in no time. Zoho CRM’s extensive library of documentation articles, videos, tutorials, and webinars is always available to help your team get the best value from the solution. We also conduct regular hands-on training sessions, both virtual and at various locations around the world, at nominal rates.
We offer paid implementation and onboarding services as well. These services are completely optional. In contrast, HubSpot charges mandatory one-time onboarding fees of $500 and $3000 for their Professional and Enterprise editions.
Do I have to pay for support?
Apart from access to our active community forums and a wide range of knowledge base articles, we also provide access to email, live chat, and phone support free of cost for users of all paid editions. You also get access to a customer portal to track the status of all your requests. Additionally, we offer paid support plans which entitle you to quicker response times, remote screen-share assistance, 24-hour phone support, and more.
Apart from access to its community forums, HubSpot offers email and in-app support options across all its paid editions. Phone support is available only to Professional and Enterprise edition customers.
What kind of assistance can I receive for customizing my CRM to my business?
For custom deployments, we offer Zoho Enterprise Business Solutions, an end-to-end project management service which includes everything from consultation to customization to implementation. Our team of experts analyzes your business’s requirements in detail and takes care of everything needed to build a CRM system customized to your sales process. They’ll then migrate you from your existing system and onboard all users to the new system.
Does Zoho CRM offer any advantages with respect to data administration and security?
With Zoho CRM, you get access to two free data backups a month. Additional data backups would cost you $6 per request. With HubSpot, you can’t back up your data for free. Zoho CRM Enterprise gives you access to sophisticated, field-level encryption using the Encryption at Rest algorithm, to prevent potential security issues. Zoho CRM also provides detailed audit logs for every user in your organization and allows you to restrict access to your account to certain IPs.
Having been around for over ten years, Zoho CRM is built to fit right into your sales processes and help you build meaningful relationships with your customers and prospects. Learn more about Zoho CRM’s advantages over HubSpot here.
I use both hubpsot and zoho, zoho manages our website and all leads are synced through to zoho. I opted for zoho over hubpsot for crm for many reasons raised in this article but mainly for the quality of automation and customisation that is possible. We run a lean operation that feels to our customers like a much bigger entity due to the amount of automation we can achieve with this software. I highly recommend it.