The HubSpot alternative is not another subscription
One director told us he was paying over a thousand pounds a month for HubSpot and using about ten percent of it. Another business was quoted Salesforce for a team of two. If that sounds familiar, the fix is rarely a different platform with a different logo. It is a CRM built around the way you sell, that you own outright. We build those. We also still fix HubSpot when that is the better answer, and we will tell you which.
The most useful HubSpot alternative for a small team is rarely another subscription. It is either a stripped-back HubSpot set-up that costs a fraction of the current bill, or a CRM built around the way the business sells and owned outright. Apexure does both and will tell you which one applies to you.
HubSpot is a good product for the business it was designed for: a marketing and sales team that will use the hubs it pays for, on a budget that expects per-seat pricing. The people who search for a HubSpot alternative are usually not that business. They have one pipeline, a few forms, an automation or two, and a bill that has grown with every seat and every hub they were told they needed.
Most alternatives on offer are the same shape with a different logo. Salesforce costs more. Pipedrive, Zoho and Close cost less and fix the interface, but they still charge by the seat and still assume your process fits a standard pipeline. For a lot of small teams, especially ones that quote or whose accounts software has to agree with the CRM, the better answer is a system built around that workflow, running on infrastructure they own.
That is what this page is about. It is written by a team that has set up HubSpot for clients, still builds landing pages in it, and replaced it in our own business with a CRM we built. We know what it does well, and we know what you are paying for that you do not use.
You are probably here because…
The bill grew faster than the team
A seat here, a hub there, a renewal that came with a price rise. Now the CRM costs more than the person who uses it most.
You use one pipeline and two forms
The marketing hub, the reporting add-ons and the sequences are on the invoice. The team uses contacts, deals and a form.
The numbers move after the fact
HubSpot attributes by click time by default, so last month's report changes this month. Your ad platform, your analytics and your CRM disagree, and nobody can say which is right.
Send us what you use HubSpot for and what it costs. You get a written recommendation to fix it, switch or build, with the numbers beside each.
What an owned CRM includes
How we help you decide, and then move
An honest assessment first
We go through your HubSpot account with you and list every pipeline, form, workflow, sequence and report anyone depends on. It is usually a short list. Sometimes the answer is a cleanup and a cheaper tier, and we say so.
Three routes, written down
Fix HubSpot. Switch to a platform that fits better. Build a system around your workflow. You get the trade-offs and the costs of each in writing.
Built around your process
If you quote with options and tiers, the CRM quotes that way. If your jobs have eight stages, the pipeline has eight stages. Nothing is bent to fit a template.
You own the code and the data
The system runs on infrastructure in your name. There is no per-seat licence and no platform to be locked into. If you ever want to leave us, you keep everything.
Migration included
Contacts, companies, deal history, notes and the workflows worth keeping come across. Both systems run in parallel before you switch, and we check the counts against HubSpot.
Tracking that stays true
Forms feed the CRM with the click that produced them, closed deals go back to Google Ads as offline conversions, and reports are locked by conversion time so history stops rewriting itself.
When you should stay on HubSpot
If you have a marketing team that uses the marketing hub, a sales team that lives in sequences and reporting, and a budget that expects it, HubSpot is hard to beat and leaving would cost more than it saves. The same is true if your process fits a standard pipeline and the bill is proportionate to the seats. In that case the problem is setup, and a cleanup will do more than a migration. We do that work too.
Who tends to leave
The businesses that leave HubSpot for a system of their own usually share one of two things. A process a template cannot describe, or a bill that has outgrown the value. We see it most often with:
- Owner-run businesses with two to ten users paying per seat for one pipeline
- Manufacturers and fabricators who quote from a price book with options and markups
- Trades and installers with jobs that move through survey, quote, deposit, schedule, install and invoice
- Professional services firms that need matters or projects rather than deals
- Businesses that need the CRM and QuickBooks or Xero to agree, both ways
- Teams whose ad platform, analytics and CRM report three different lead counts
If you use most of HubSpot and your process fits it, you are probably not on this list. Read the section above instead.
How a move off HubSpot runs
Leaving a platform badly is worse than staying. This is the order that avoids that:
We go through your HubSpot account with you and list every pipeline, form, workflow, sequence, report and integration that is live, and which of them anyone depends on.
We write down how a lead becomes a customer in your business, stage by stage, with who does what. The system is built from that document, so nothing is inherited from a template.
Contacts, pipeline, quoting if you need it, follow-up sequences, booking, and the integrations that matter to you, from accounts software to Google Ads offline conversions. Reviewed with your team at each stage.
Contacts, companies, deals, notes and emails are exported and loaded. Both systems run side by side for a period so nothing is lost while your team gets used to the new one.
HubSpot is downgraded or switched off on a date you choose. You get the code, the infrastructure in your name, and screen-recorded documentation for every workflow.
After cut-over you are paying for hosting and, if you want it, our support hours. There is no per-seat licence and no platform fee. Some clients keep HubSpot's free tools for forms or email and post them into the new system.
How it works
Tell us what you use HubSpot for and what it costs.
We assess it and recommend fix, switch or build.
If you build, the workflow document comes first.
An owned CRM vs. HubSpot
Built to fit, in your name
- Built around your workflow
- One-time build with no per-seat licence
- Only the parts you use
- Quoting with options, tiers and accounts sync
- Reports locked by conversion time
- Code and data in your name
- Documented and handed over
What you get instead
- your workflow bent to fit the hubs
- a bill that grows with every seat and every hub
- marketing, sales and service hubs on one invoice
- quotes as a paid add-on
- click-time attribution that rewrites last month
- an account you rent, with limits on what history exports
- dependent on a partner agency
Why businesses leaving HubSpot work with Apexure
We know the platform you are leaving
We have set up HubSpot for clients, built landing pages in it and fixed its tracking. We know what a migration leaves behind before it does.
We have built the replacement
Quoting engines with price books and tiers, two-way accounts sync, follow-up sequences and offline conversion feeds, in a system a business runs its sales on rather than a demo.
We left HubSpot ourselves
Our own operations moved off HubSpot and a pile of other subscriptions onto a system we built. We know the effort involved because we paid it.
Tracking is part of the build
Every enquiry keeps its source. Every closed deal goes back to the ad platform. Reports are locked by conversion time. The CRM, the analytics and the ad account finally agree.
Documented and handed over
Code, infrastructure and screen-recorded walkthroughs, all in your name. The dependence on us is a choice, not a lock-in.
Fixing HubSpot is on the menu too
If the assessment says stay, we clean up the account, fix the tracking and move you to the tier you actually need. No migration for its own sake.
Owned CRM vs. switching platforms
Switching from HubSpot to Salesforce raises the monthly cost. Switching to Pipedrive, Zoho or Close lowers it, but all of them charge per seat. An owned system is a one-time build plus hosting, and adding a user costs nothing.
Every platform has a pipeline, a contact record and an automation builder, and every one assumes a standard sales process. If yours is not standard, you will be back to custom fields and workarounds within a month of switching.
Platforms let you export contacts. They rarely let you export history, automations or the logic behind them. An owned system is yours down to the database.
HubSpot's default attribution is by click time, which means a lead that clicked in June and converted in August changes June's numbers. We report by conversion time and keep leads as permanent events, so history stays put.
A platform switch takes weeks of setup and migration. A build takes longer, typically six to twelve weeks depending on quoting and integrations, but you do it once.
If you use most of HubSpot and your process fits it, stay. If you need marketing automation at scale with a large team and a budget to match, HubSpot or Salesforce may be right. We will tell you either way.
The things that pile up when the bill outgrows the team
We find most of these in the first assessment
- Seats paid for people who read one report
- Hubs on the invoice nobody has opened
- Workflows nobody can explain
- A renewal that came with a price rise
- Quotes done in a spreadsheet anyway
- Accounts software out of sync
- Last month's report changed this month
- Three lead counts and no decision
From teams who came to US from a platform
I've worked with Apexure's team on multiple landing pages (at least 4 so far) in Unbounce, and theyve been incredible. Theyre fast, responsive, and clearly know what they're doing. Every change or request is handled quickly, and they always focus on improving conversion rates. Total pros - highly recommend!
There is a reason (well, probably several), why the Apexure team is top rated! Thank you for being very responsive in helping us to not only create an A/B test, but also advising us on the tools to help us monitor the tests going forward. What seemed a like a lengthy and dauting potential project was made simple and quick to implement by the Apexure team and their team! A pleasure to work with and we will have no hesitation is using again. Mohammed.
They always deliver what they say they will
A CRM that costs what it should and fits the way you sell
Contacts, pipeline, quoting, follow-up and reporting built around your workflow, connected to your accounts software and your ad platform, and owned outright. There is no per-seat fee, no hub you do not use, and no report that changes after the fact.
HubSpot alternative FAQs
It depends on why you are leaving. If you want a cleaner interface and a standard pipeline, Pipedrive, Zoho or Close will do that for less per seat. If your process does not fit a template, or you quote with options and need your accounts software in sync, a CRM built around your workflow that you own is usually the better answer.
Pipedrive, Zoho and Close all cost less per seat, and for a standard pipeline one of them will do. If you are paying for seats that only read reports, or quoting and accounts have to be one record, an owned system usually costs less over two years and adds users for nothing.
Rarely, for a small team. Salesforce is built for large sales organisations with the budget and the administrator to run it. A glass manufacturer with two users was recommended it by their ads agency. We suggested a build instead, and that is what they run on.
A build is a one-time project fee rather than a subscription, followed by hosting in your name and optional support hours. Whether it pays back depends on your seat count and the hubs you pay for. We put the comparison in writing during the assessment so you decide on numbers.
Yes. Some clients keep the free marketing tools and move the CRM. Forms and pages can post straight into the new system, and we still build landing pages in HubSpot for clients who stay.
The assessment takes about a week. A build takes six to twelve weeks depending on quoting, integrations and how much history you want to migrate. We run both systems in parallel before switching, so there is no day without a CRM.
Contacts, companies, deals, notes and emails export. Workflows are rebuilt rather than copied, and only the ones anyone depends on. We load history before cut-over and check the counts against HubSpot.
Yes. We build landing pages in it, fix tracking in it, and set it up for clients who fit it. This page exists because some of the people who ask us for that would be better served by leaving, and we would rather say so than sell them a setup.
The code, the database, the hosting account and the documentation, all in your name. If you stop working with us, nothing switches off.
Fix it, switch or build. in writing.
Send us what you use HubSpot for and what it costs. You get a written recommendation with the cost of each route beside it, and no pressure to pick the one we build.
UK hours, which is the East Coast morning.