HubSpot vs Insightly: Which CRM is Best for Your Needs

Struggling to choose between HubSpot vs Insightly for your CRM? This article breaks down their features, pricing, and usability to help you decide.

Key Takeaways

• HubSpot excels in marketing automation with advanced email marketing tools and a user-friendly interface, making it suitable for small and mid-sized businesses.

• Insightly offers strong project management features and extensive integration capabilities, making it a versatile choice for businesses that require both CRM and project management functionality.

• Both CRMs provide free plans, but HubSpot’s free version is more feature-rich, while Insightly’s paid plans start at a competitive rate, catering to small businesses with growing needs.

Overview of HubSpot and Insightly

HubSpot was founded in 2006 and has since become a powerhouse in the CRM world, primarily focusing on marketing automation and sales features. Its user-friendly interface makes it particularly appealing to small and mid-sized businesses. HubSpot’s comprehensive suite of tools allows businesses to manage their marketing campaigns, sales pipelines, and customer interactions seamlessly, making it a strong candidate for those seeking an all-in-one solution.

On the other hand, Insightly, established in 2013, offers a flexible CRM software solution tailored to businesses of various sizes. Insightly stands out with its integrated project management tools, task management capabilities, and robust content management system. This makes it a versatile choice for companies that need more than just marketing and sales automation and CRM platforms.

While both platforms offer robust CRM functionalities, their core strengths and target audiences differ, setting the stage for a detailed comparison.

Key Features Comparison

Evaluating the key features of HubSpot and Insightly helps determine the best CRM for your business. While both platforms offer marketing automation, sales pipeline management, and contact management, the depth and execution of these features vary significantly.

Examining these areas reveals how these CRMs compare.

Marketing Automation Features

HubSpot CRM is known for its extensive marketing automation features, especially its powerful email marketing tools. These tools are designed to help businesses attract, convert, and nurture leads through sophisticated email campaigns and lead generation strategies. HubSpot’s workflow automation and email tracking features further enhance its marketing capabilities, providing advanced automation options that are integral to modern marketing efforts.

Insightly, although not as feature-rich in marketing automation as HubSpot, has tailored its tools based on customer feedback to meet specific user needs. Insightly’s marketing tools may be more basic compared to HubSpot, but they offer essential functions that can support smaller marketing teams or businesses with simpler marketing needs.

Sales Pipeline Management

Sales pipeline management is another critical area where both HubSpot and Insightly excel. HubSpot’s drag-and-drop pipeline builder simplifies the customization and management of the sales process for teams. This feature is particularly beneficial for businesses looking to streamline their sales operations and maintain a clear overview of their sales pipeline.

Insightly, on the other hand, is recognized for its strengths in contact and lead management, as well as its robust sales pipeline management capabilities. Insightly enables automatic scheduling of reports to designated individuals, improving sales tracking and oversight. Both platforms offer customizable sales pipelines, sales tracking, sales forecasting, and reporting features, but their approaches and user experiences differ.

HubSpot’s sales pipeline management is intuitive and user-friendly, whereas Insightly offers a more structured approach with detailed insights and automated reporting to keep teams efficient. This makes Insightly a strong contender for businesses that prioritize detailed oversight and reporting in their sales processes.

Contact Management

Both HubSpot and Insightly provide robust contact management solutions, crucial for any CRM platform. HubSpot CRM enriches contact data automatically using a vast database, ensuring users have current information on their contacts. This feature significantly enhances the efficiency of managing customer relationships and streamlining communication.

Insightly provides extensive customization options, allowing users to tailor fields, pipelines, and sales dashboards without the need for external developers. Users can manually add contacts and group them into organizations, providing a structured approach to contact management. These features ensure that businesses can efficiently track and utilize customer data to manage customer relationships, enhancing their overall CRM effectiveness.

Pricing Structure

Pricing significantly impacts your budget and the value derived from a CRM platform. Both HubSpot and Insightly offer tiered pricing structures that cater to different business sizes and needs.

Let’s break down the free plans and paid plans to see how they compare.

Free Plan Comparison

Both HubSpot and Insightly offer free plans, providing businesses with a basic entry-level CRM solution. HubSpot’s free version is notable for its extensive features, including management of up to 1,000,000 products, making it an attractive, cost-effective CRM solution.

In contrast, Insightly’s free plan is more limited, with restrictions on the number of records and users. While it still provides essential CRM functionalities, businesses may quickly find themselves needing to upgrade to a paid plan to unlock more advanced features and capabilities.

Paid Plans Breakdown

HubSpot’s paid plans start at $12 per month for the Starter plan, which includes:

• Marketing Hub Starter (1,000 marketing contacts)

• Sales Hub Starter

• Service Hub Starter

• Content Hub Starter

• Operations Hub Starter

• Commerce Hub.

As businesses grow, they can opt for the Professional and Enterprise plans, which offer more sophisticated features and scalability.

Insightly’s paid plans are relatively affordable, starting at $29 per user per month. The Plus, Professional, and Enterprise plans range from $29 to $99 per user per month, offering various levels of advanced features, including sales automation, workflow automation, custom branding, and advanced reporting. This pricing structure makes Insightly accessible for small businesses while providing room for growth.

Ease of Use and Interface

HubSpot’s sales pipeline management includes a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface, which many users find intuitive and easy to navigate. This, combined with its powerful automation capabilities, contributes to high user adoption rates. However, some users find HubSpot’s extensive features overwhelming and challenging to navigate, especially for newcomers.

Insightly vs is known for its quick and user-friendly onboarding process, allowing businesses to start using the system immediately. Its straightforward navigation and intuitive interface make it accessible for both new and experienced users, enhancing overall usability.

Integrations and Compatibility

Integrations are vital for CRM systems, as they allow businesses to connect different tools and streamline operations. HubSpot offers over 500 integrations, including Google Analytics, Forecastio, WordPress, and Shopify. As a robust content management system, HubSpot enhances CRM functionalities by supporting various integrations that benefit users looking for comprehensive solutions.

Insightly offers even more extensive integration capabilities, with over 2,000 integrations facilitated by its AppConnect feature. This no-code/low-code tool allows businesses to connect with various applications effortlessly, including Google Drive, Mailchimp, Zapier, and Evernote.

Unlike HubSpot’s closed system, Insightly operates as an open system, promoting greater flexibility for businesses to select their preferred applications.

Customer Support and Resources

Customer support is a crucial component of any CRM platform. HubSpot provides comprehensive support options, including phone, email, and live chat support, with 24/7 phone support for Professional and Enterprise plans. This ensures that businesses can get help whenever they need it, enhancing their overall experience with the platform and utilizing effective customer service tools.

Insightly offers support via phone, email, and chatbot, though it lacks 24/7 availability. However, Insightly compensates with personalized training sessions with a support representative, helping users get the most out of the platform.

Both platforms also offer extensive knowledge bases filled with articles, videos, and guides to assist users.

Mobile App Functionality

Both HubSpot and Insightly offer mobile applications for iOS and Android users, ensuring that businesses can manage their CRM on the go. HubSpot’s mobile app includes offline functionality with comprehensive features, making it robust for mobile CRM management.

Insightly’s mobile app features push notifications and offline access, though some features may be limited compared to the desktop version. This ensures that users can stay on top of their tasks and customer interactions, even when offline.

Reporting and Analytics

HubSpot provides more customizable reports than Insightly, offering robust reporting capabilities with customizable dashboards and detailed sales, deal, and performance reports. These tools enable effective data analysis but often require expertise for optimal use.

Insightly, on the other hand, is noted for its user-friendly and straightforward reporting tools. While it may not offer the same level of customization as HubSpot, Insightly’s reporting capabilities are intuitive and easier to generate, making it a practical choice for businesses looking for simplicity in their analytics.

Specialized Features

Insightly focuses on project management capabilities, aiding in tracking project delivery post-sales. This is especially beneficial for businesses managing customer relationships and project workflows within one platform. By integrating a robust content management system, Insightly enhances CRM functionalities, supporting various integrations and offering specialized tools for managing and creating content throughout the customer journey. Insightly provides advanced project management capabilities, enabling effective automation and monitoring of project delivery.

Insightly’s no-code/low-code tool, AppConnect, allows seamless integration with various applications, enhancing customization capabilities. This level of customization allows businesses to tailor fields, pipelines, and dashboards without the need for expensive external consultants.

Customer Reviews and Feedback

HubSpot is recognized as a top choice for CRM lead management, receiving high praise on platforms like Gartner Peer Insights. However, some users note that HubSpot may not scale well for large enterprises and its advanced features can be costly.

Insightly, while praised for its flexibility and project management capabilities, is not ideal for large businesses due to fewer integrations compared to other CRMs and the lack of 24/7 support.

These reviews highlight the strengths and weaknesses of each platform, providing valuable insights for potential users.

Summary

In summary, both HubSpot and Insightly offer robust CRM solutions with unique strengths. HubSpot excels in marketing automation and user-friendly sales pipeline management, making it a strong choice for small to mid-sized businesses. Insightly, with its flexible and customizable project management tools, is ideal for businesses that need more than just marketing and sales automation.

Ultimately, the best CRM platform for your business depends on your specific needs and priorities. If you require extensive marketing automation features and a user-friendly interface, HubSpot may be the better choice. However, if you need integrated project management tools and extensive customization options, Insightly could be the perfect fit. Whichever you choose, both platforms offer valuable features that can help manage customer relationships and drive business growth.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which CRM is better for small businesses, HubSpot or Insightly?

HubSpot is generally considered a better option for small businesses due to its user-friendly interface and comprehensive free plan, making it more accessible and appealing.

Does Insightly offer better project management features than HubSpot?

Insightly offers superior project management features compared to HubSpot, making it a more suitable option for businesses focused on managing projects in conjunction with customer relationships.

Are the reporting tools in HubSpot more advanced than those in Insightly?

HubSpot's reporting tools are more advanced and customizable compared to Insightly's, which are easier to use but offer less flexibility. Therefore, for those seeking in-depth analysis and customization, HubSpot is the superior option.

What are the main limitations of HubSpot’s free plan?

The main limitation of HubSpot’s free plan is that it lacks advanced features such as marketing automation and detailed reporting, necessitating an upgrade for businesses seeking those capabilities.

Can Insightly integrate with other business tools easily?

Insightly indeed integrates easily with other business tools, featuring over 2,000 integrations through its AppConnect. This allows for seamless connections with a wide range of applications.