Free tools
$0
Free
US$0. Up to 2 users, no credit card. API limit 100 requests per 10 seconds per app and 250,000 per day per account.
API included
Comparison
HubSpot vs Salesforce
HubSpot includes the API on every plan, free tools included, with batch writes of 100 records and up to 1,000,000 calls a day. Salesforce includes the Web Services API from Core at $195 a user a month billed annually, or as a $25 add-on on Pro Suite, and adds Bulk API 2.0 for 150 million records a day. Both run official MCP servers.
Pick HubSpot if
- You want the API on a free or low-cost plan: HubSpot includes it on free tools and Starter
- You want simple single-account auth with a Service Key instead of an OAuth app
Pick Salesforce if
- Your client's accounts, contacts and opportunities already live in Salesforce as the system of record
- You load or extract very large volumes: Bulk API 2.0 handles 150 million records a day
HubSpot
CRM
Salesforce
CRM
At a glance
HubSpot
- From
- US$20/seat/moStarter list
- Free plan
- YesFree tools for 2 users, with API
- Pricing model
- Per seat
- MCP server
- Official
Salesforce
- From
- $25/user/moStarter Suite, no API
- Free plan
- YesFree Suite $0 without API; Developer Edition
- Pricing model
- Per seat
- MCP server
- YesPartial: Enterprise Edition and up
Where they differ
13 points side by side. Open a value for the full detail.
| What | HubSpot | Salesforce |
|---|---|---|
| CRM platform with free tools and hubsA CRM platform with free tools and paid hubs. Its CRM API covers contacts, companies, deals, tickets, engagements, custom objects, lists and imports. | Enterprise CRM system of recordAn enterprise CRM system of record. Its platform APIs include REST, Composite, sObject Collections, SOQL and SOSL queries, Bulk API 2.0 and event streams through Change Data Capture and the Pub/Sub API. | |
| Free tools for 2 users, with APIFree tools for up to 2 users, no credit card, with API access. | Free Suite $0 without API; Developer EditionFree Suite at $0 has no Web Services API. For API testing there is a free Developer Edition org with 15,000 API calls a day; orgs inactive for 45 days may be terminated. The 30-day Sales Cloud trial asks for a phone number. | |
| Starter US$20/seat/mo listSales Hub Starter: US$20 a seat a month list price on monthly or annual billing. A limited-time new-customer offer on 25 Oct 2026 made it US$10 monthly or US$7 a month billed annually. Verified 2026-10-25. | Starter Suite $25/user/mo, no APIStarter Suite: $25 a user a month, billed monthly or annually, without the Web Services API. The cheapest plan with the API included is Core at $195 a user a month billed annually. Verified 2026-10-25. | |
| Professional US$90/seat/mo annual, plus onboardingPer seat. Professional is US$100 a month paid monthly (still a one-year commitment) or US$90 billed annually, plus US$1,500 onboarding. Enterprise is US$150 a month billed annually, plus US$3,500 onboarding. Prices are set by location. | Pro Suite $100/user/mo annualPer user. Pro Suite $100, Core $195, Advanced $395 and Max $550 a user a month, all billed annually. AI can be added to Core and above. | |
| Every plan, free tools includedEvery plan, free tools included. Limits rise with the tier. | Core and up; Pro Suite add-onNot on Free Suite or Starter Suite. Pro Suite adds the Web Services API for $25 a user a month. Core, Advanced and Max include it. | |
| OAuth or Service KeyOAuth for distributed apps. For one account, a Service Key under Settings > Integrations > Service Keys. Legacy private apps can no longer be created in existing accounts from 26 Oct 2026; existing tokens keep working. | OAuth 2.0 only, no static keyOAuth 2.0 through an External Client App or Connected App created in Setup. There is no static API key. The Integration user license gives API-only system users. | |
| 100 per 10 seconds on Free, StarterPer app per 10 seconds: 100 on Free and Starter, 190 on Professional and Enterprise. Per account per day: 250,000 on Free and Starter and 1,000,000 on Enterprise (for Professional, HubSpot's developer docs and its product catalog give different figures). Add-on packs add 1,000,000 a day each, up to 2 packs. | 100,000 calls/24h plus per licenseOne org-wide allocation over a rolling 24 hours: 100,000 plus 1,000 per Salesforce license on Enterprise-type editions (an org with 15 licenses gets 115,000), or plus 5,000 per license on Unlimited and Performance, plus purchased add-ons. Up to 25 long-running requests at once in production. | |
| 5/sec, 10,000 results per queryThe CRM search endpoint allows 5 requests a second per account, up to 200 results per page and 10,000 per query. It lags behind newly created records. | SOQL and SOSL; Composite APISOQL queries and SOSL full-text search, each counted as API calls. The Composite API chains up to 25 subrequests as one call. | |
| 100 per batch call, Imports APIBatch create, update and upsert of 100 records per call; associations in batches of 2,000. The Imports API takes up to 80,000,000 rows a day. | 200 per call; Bulk API 2.0sObject Collections create or upsert up to 200 records per call. Bulk API 2.0 handles 150,000,000 records and 15,000 batches per rolling 24 hours, recommended above 2,000 records. | |
| Contacts dedupe on email; companies notContacts dedupe on email. Companies created through the API, including by sync apps, are not deduplicated by domain. | Upsert by your external IDUpsert by an external ID field: it creates when there is no match and updates on one match. When the external ID matches more than one record, it returns HTTP 300 with the matches. | |
| 1,000 subscriptions per app, signedApp webhooks: up to 1,000 subscriptions per app, signed, retried up to 10 times over 24 hours. Webhook actions in workflows are named for Marketing Hub Enterprise in the usage guidelines. | No generic webhooks; CDC or Platform EventsNo generic webhook product. Use Change Data Capture or Platform Events over the Pub/Sub API or Streaming API, or Outbound Messaging (SOAP, up to 100 notifications per message). | |
| YesOfficial remote MCP at mcp.hubspot.com with OAuth. It reads and writes contacts, companies, deals, tickets and engagements. | Partial: Enterprise Edition and upSalesforce-hosted MCP servers, generally available for Enterprise Edition orgs and above. They are off by default until an admin enables them in Setup, use OAuth with PKCE, and run as the signed-in user. The full sObject server has 11 tools and can delete records. | |
| SOC 1, 2 Type II, 3, HIPAASOC 2 Type II, SOC 3 and SOC 1, a HIPAA attestation, GDPR and CCPA, per its trust and security pages. | SOC 1, 2, 3, ISO 27001, 27017, 27018SOC 1, SOC 2 and SOC 3, ISO 27001, 27017 and 27018, and GDPR, per its compliance site. |
No row matches in this view.
Pricing, plan by plan
US dollars as each vendor's page showed them on 25 Oct 2026. One panel per tool; switch each between monthly and annual billing (an annual price is the monthly rate when you pay for the year up front).
HubSpot
4 plans · API reviewSales Hub Starter
$20/mo
billed monthly
$20/mo
billed annually
Per seat, US list price US$20 a month on monthly or annual billing.
API included
Plan details
A limited-time new-customer offer on 25 Oct 2026: US$10 a month on monthly billing, or US$7 a month billed annually. 500 HubSpot Credits, up to 50 workflows with restricted triggers and actions.
Sales Hub Professional
$100/mo
billed monthly
$90/mo
billed annually
Per seat: US$100 a month paid monthly (still a one-year commitment) or US$90 a month billed annually.
API included
Plan details
One-time onboarding US$1,500. 3,000 HubSpot Credits, up to 300 workflows. API limit 190 per 10 seconds.
Sales Hub Enterprise
$150/mo
annual billing only
$150/mo
billed annually
Per seat: US$150 a month billed annually, through sales; no monthly option.
API included
Plan details
One-time onboarding US$3,500. 5,000 HubSpot Credits, up to 1,000 workflows. API limit 190 per 10 seconds and 1,000,000 per day.
Salesforce
7 plans · API reviewFree Suite
$0
Free
$0 a user a month.
No API
Plan details
No Web Services API.
Starter Suite
$25/mo
billed monthly
$25/mo
billed annually
$25 a user a month, billed monthly or annually.
No API
Plan details
No Web Services API.
Pro Suite
$100/mo
annual billing only
$100/mo
billed annually
$100 a user a month, billed annually.
API included
Plan details
Web Services API is an extra $25 a user a month.
Core
$195/mo
annual billing only
$195/mo
billed annually
$195 a user a month, billed annually.
API included
Plan details
Web Services API included.
Show all 7 plansShow fewer plans
Advanced
$395/mo
annual billing only
$395/mo
billed annually
$395 a user a month, billed annually.
API included
Plan details
Everything in Core plus enhanced security, more AI and more data capacity.
Max
$550/mo
annual billing only
$550/mo
billed annually
$550 a user a month, billed annually.
API included
Plan details
Everything in Advanced plus the full AI suite.
Developer Edition
$0
Free
Free org for building and testing, API enabled, 15,000 API calls per rolling 24 hours, 5 concurrent long-running requests.
API included
Plan details
Orgs inactive for 45 days may be terminated.
Which one to pick
Choose HubSpot if
- You want the API on a free or low-cost plan: HubSpot includes it on free tools and Starter.
- You want simple single-account auth with a Service Key instead of an OAuth app.
- You load data in batches of 100 or through imports of up to 80 million rows a day.
- You want app webhooks for record changes without setting up event streams.
Choose Salesforce if
- Your client's accounts, contacts and opportunities already live in Salesforce as the system of record.
- You load or extract very large volumes: Bulk API 2.0 handles 150 million records a day.
- You want idempotent writes by external ID, up to 200 records per call.
- You need event streams through Change Data Capture and the Pub/Sub API.
- You want a free Developer Edition org to build and test against before buying.
If neither fits: If you are a small team that mainly needs a deal pipeline, compare a pipeline-first CRM: see HubSpot vs Pipedrive or Pipedrive vs Zoho CRM.
Want us to build it for you?
Choosing between HubSpot and Salesforce, or moving from one to the other? Tell us your setup. We will show you how we would run it, and what we would check first.
Questions people ask
Which HubSpot and Salesforce plans include API access?
HubSpot includes the API on every plan, free tools included. Salesforce does not include the Web Services API on Free Suite or Starter Suite; Pro Suite adds it for $25 a user a month, and Core ($195), Advanced ($395) and Max ($550 a user a month, billed annually) include it.
How many API calls a day do HubSpot and Salesforce allow?
HubSpot allows 250,000 calls a day per account on Free and Starter and 1,000,000 on Enterprise (its developer docs and product catalog give different figures for Professional), plus 1,000,000 per add-on pack. Salesforce gives each org 100,000 calls per rolling 24 hours plus 1,000 per Salesforce license on Enterprise-type editions, so 15 licenses means 115,000, or plus 5,000 per license on Unlimited and Performance.
Can I test the Salesforce API for free?
Yes, with a free Developer Edition org. It has the API enabled and 15,000 calls per rolling 24 hours, and its signup has no phone field. Orgs left inactive for 45 days may be terminated. The 30-day Sales Cloud trial needs a phone number.
Do HubSpot and Salesforce have MCP servers for AI agents?
Yes. HubSpot runs a remote MCP at mcp.hubspot.com with OAuth. Salesforce hosts MCP servers for Enterprise Edition orgs and above; an admin turns them on in Setup, and they run with the signed-in user's permissions. Salesforce's full sObject server can delete records, so scope access with care.
How do I avoid duplicate records when syncing into HubSpot or Salesforce?
In HubSpot, contacts dedupe on email but companies written through the API are not deduplicated by domain, so look companies up by domain before you create them, and do not rely on search for records created seconds earlier. In Salesforce, upsert on an external ID field; if that ID matches more than one record the API returns HTTP 300 instead of writing.
Related
Read from hubspot.com/pricing/sales, salesforce.com/sales/pricing and each tool's API docs. Verified 25 Oct 2026.
