HubSpot vs monday CRM is a common comparison for teams choosing a modern CRM platform, but the two tools are built for very different priorities. HubSpot focuses on marketing automation and an all-in-one customer platform, while monday CRM emphasizes flexible workflows and visual sales pipeline management.
In this article, we compare HubSpot CRM and monday CRM based on hands-on experience, covering features, pricing, automation, scalability, and real-world use cases. The goal is to help sales leaders, marketers, and founders choose the CRM that best aligns with their team structure and growth strategy—without vendor bias or marketing hype.
Quick Summary – HubSpot vs monday CRM
| Criteria | HubSpot CRM | monday CRM |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Sales + Marketing + Service teams | Sales-focused teams & custom workflows |
| Primary Strength | Marketing automation & unified CRM ecosystem | Workflow flexibility & visual pipeline management |
| Ease of Use | User-friendly but feature-dense | Very intuitive, fast adoption |
| Customization | Moderate (within HubSpot framework) | Very high (boards, columns, automations) |
| Sales Pipeline | Advanced forecasting & deal insights | Highly visual, customizable pipelines |
| Marketing Automation | Industry-leading | Limited |
| AI Capabilities | Predictive lead scoring, AI insights | Basic workflow automation |
| Reporting & Analytics | Advanced, attribution-based | Solid but less advanced |
| Integrations | Extensive app marketplace | Good, productivity-focused |
| Pricing Model | Freemium + modular paid hubs | Seat-based tiered pricing |
| Free Plan | Yes (permanent) | No (trial only) |
| Scalability | Strong from SMB to enterprise | Best for SMB to mid-market |
| Learning Curve | Medium | Low |
| Time to Value | Medium (setup required) | Fast |
| Overall Complexity | High (powerful but dense) | Low to medium |
| Value for Money | High if using automation & marketing | High for sales execution |
| SEO Keyword Fit | HubSpot CRM, HubSpot pricing | monday CRM, Monday.com CRM |
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What Is Monday CRM?
Monday.com launched its CRM product as an extension of its popular work management platform, bringing the same visual, flexible approach to sales pipeline management. Founded in 2012, Monday.com has built a reputation for creating highly customizable workflow tools that teams actually enjoy using.
Monday CRM positions itself as a flexible sales solution for teams that want complete control over their processes without technical complexity. The platform emphasizes visual pipeline management, automation capabilities, and the ability to connect sales workflows with broader project management needs.
Core features include customizable deal boards, contact management, email integration, activity tracking, and robust automation. The platform excels at creating tailored sales processes that match exactly how your team works, rather than forcing you into predefined structures.
Monday CRM works best for small to mid-sized businesses that value flexibility, visual workflow management, and teams already familiar with Monday.com’s work management platform. It’s particularly strong for companies that need tight integration between sales activities and project delivery.
What Is HubSpot CRM?
HubSpot pioneered the inbound marketing movement and built its CRM as the foundation of a comprehensive customer platform. Founded in 2006, HubSpot has grown into one of the most recognized names in CRM software, serving over 200,000 customers globally.
The HubSpot ecosystem consists of five core products: Marketing Hub, Sales Hub, Service Hub, CMS Hub, and Operations Hub—all built on the free CRM foundation. This architecture allows businesses to start with basic CRM functionality and add sophisticated marketing, sales, and service capabilities as they grow.
HubSpot CRM includes contact management, deal tracking, email tracking, meeting scheduling, live chat, and detailed reporting—all available in the free tier. Paid hubs unlock advanced automation, analytics, custom reporting, predictive lead scoring, and enterprise features.
The platform is ideal for businesses prioritizing inbound marketing, content-driven growth strategies, and organizations needing deep integration between marketing and sales operations. HubSpot particularly suits companies building long-term customer relationships through educational content and nurture campaigns.
Monday CRM vs HubSpot – Feature Comparison
| Feature Category | Monday CRM | HubSpot CRM | Detailed Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Ease of Use & Interface | Highly visual, board-based UI | Clean, modular dashboards | Monday CRM uses a Kanban/board style interface that is extremely visual and easy to pick up. HubSpot’s UI is cleaner with structured menus, but can feel more complex due to high feature density. |
| 2. Customization | Very high | Moderate | Monday CRM lets you customize almost everything — boards, columns, statuses, automation triggers, views. HubSpot allows custom fields and views but within pre-defined CRM frameworks. |
| 3. Sales Pipeline Management | Strong, flexible pipelines | Advanced, multi-layered pipelines | Monday CRM offers flexible pipelines that teams can tailor to their exact process. HubSpot provides more data-driven pipeline controls, forecasting, and deal scoring. |
| 4. Contact & Lead Management | Good basic lead/contact tracking | Excellent contact database | HubSpot has a powerful contact/lead ecosystem with behavioral tracking, segmentation, AI scoring, and engagement tools that far exceed Monday’s basic CRM. |
| 5. Marketing Automation | Basic automation | Industry-leading automation | Monday CRM supports rule-based triggers (status changes, notifications). HubSpot offers multi-step campaigns, workflows, lead nurturing, A/B testing, smart content — critical for marketing teams. |
| 6. Email Marketing & Sequences | Limited | Built-in email campaigns | HubSpot CRM includes integrated email marketing, templates, tracking, performance analytics. Monday CRM relies mainly on integrations with email tools (Outlook, Gmail). |
| 7. Reporting & Analytics | Custom dashboards & visual charts | Advanced analytics + attribution reporting | Monday CRM offers basic dashboards and custom reports; HubSpot’s reporting is deeper, including cross-channel ROI, funnel analytics, revenue attribution. |
| 8. Automation & AI Capabilities | Workflow triggers, basic AI | Strong AI + automation + predictive models | HubSpot integrates AI suggestions, predictive lead scoring, forecasting insights, automated lead routing — capabilities beyond Monday’s rule-based automations. |
| 9. Integrations | Good productivity integrations | Extensive ecosystem | Monday CRM integrates well with Slack, Outlook, Zoom, Teams, GSuite. HubSpot’s marketplace includes hundreds of apps across marketing, e-commerce, finance, support, analytics, and more. |
| 10. Mobile Experience | Intuitive mobile boards | Full mobile feature set | Monday’s mobile is excellent for daily pipeline tracking. HubSpot’s mobile app supports CRM + Marketing + Service activities, including contact management, tickets, meetings. |
| 11. Team Collaboration | Built-in work management | Collaboration via tasks & shared views | Monday CRM shines at internal team collaboration with shared boards, comments, dependencies. HubSpot supports collaboration but is less visual. |
| 12. Integrations with Other SaaS Tools | Standard connectors | Deep 3rd-party & enterprise connectors | HubSpot connects with many enterprise apps, data platforms, analytics tools, e-commerce stacks, enabling richer workflows. |
| 13. Security & Compliance | Standard security | Enterprise-grade security & compliance | HubSpot offers strong enterprise security features (SSO, audit logs, user permissions), while Monday covers essential needs but is better suited to SMBs. |
| 14. Scalability | Great for SMB to mid-market | Excellent for SMB to enterprise | Monday CRM scales well but is best for small/mid teams. HubSpot’s modular hubs make it suitable from small teams up to large enterprise. |
1) Sales & Pipeline Management
Monday CRM
- Drag-and-drop pipelines
- Custom deal statuses
- Multiple views (Kanban, Table, Timeline)
- Easy reordering and filtering
HubSpot CRM
- Multi-pipeline support with stage probability
- Deal scoring & forecasting tools
- Interaction tracking tied to contacts
- Auto-playbook sales sequences
Verdict:
Monday excels at visual simplicity and flexibility; HubSpot wins with data-driven forecasting and advanced pipeline controls.
2) Lead & Contact Management
Monday CRM
- Contact lists and boards
- Custom contact properties
- Basic filtering & sorting
HubSpot CRM
- Behavioral tracking (website, email opens, downloads)
- Lead scoring & predictive insights
- Segmentation for campaigns
- Company hierarchy relationships
Verdict:
HubSpot clearly leads with rich contact intelligence and segmentation.
3) Marketing Automation
Monday CRM
- Simple automation rules
- Triggered notifications
- Limited multi-step flows
HubSpot CRM
- Complex multi-step campaign builder
- Drip sequences
- Lead nurturing paths
- Smart content + personalization
Verdict:
HubSpot is far more powerful for marketing automation and lead lifecycle management.
4) Reporting & Analytics
Monday CRM
- Custom dashboards
- Basic charts and data tables
- Export to CSV
HubSpot CRM
- Built-in attribution models
- Revenue analytics
- Custom reports across sales + marketing + service
- Data insights with AI recommendations
Verdict:
HubSpot has deeper analytics, especially for multi-team insights and attribution.
5) Integrations & Ecosystem
Monday CRM
- Key integrations: Slack, Gmail, Outlook, Teams
- API access for custom connectors
HubSpot CRM
- Hundreds of native app integrations
- Partners for e-commerce, finance, support, analytics
- Built-in app marketplace
Verdict:
HubSpot’s ecosystem is vastly larger and more diverse.
6) AI & Automation Intelligence
Monday CRM
- Automation triggers
- Basic AI suggestions (task reminders)
HubSpot CRM
- Predictive lead scoring
- AI-generated content suggestions
- Forecasting insights
- Automated playbooks
Verdict:
HubSpot clearly leads with AI-enhanced automation and predictive insights.
Feature Summary – Which CRM Shines Where?
| Capability | Monday CRM Strength | HubSpot CRM Strength |
|---|---|---|
| Sales pipeline visuals | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Marketing automation | ⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Contact intelligence | ⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Reporting & insights | ⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Customization | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Integrations | ⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| AI & predictive analytics | ⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Beginner-friendly | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐ |
Pricing Comparison – Monday CRM vs HubSpot
Monday CRM Pricing:
Monday CRM follows a per-seat, monthly pricing model with four tiers. The Basic plan starts at $12 per user/month (billed annually) and includes essential CRM features, customizable pipelines, and 200+ automations. The Standard plan at $17 per user/month adds timeline views, advanced integrations, and enhanced automation.
Pro tier costs $28 per user/month and unlocks advanced reporting, time tracking, and dependency management. Enterprise pricing is custom and includes advanced security, enterprise-grade automations, and premium support.
There’s no free plan for Monday CRM—only a 14-day trial. This represents a significant consideration for budget-conscious startups. Minimum seat requirements apply, typically starting at three users.
HubSpot CRM Pricing:
HubSpot offers a genuinely free CRM with unlimited users, contacts, and core features—making it exceptional for startups and small teams. The free tier includes contact management, deal tracking, email tracking, and basic reporting with no time limits.
Sales Hub Starter begins at $20 per month for two users, adding advanced email scheduling, templates, and simple automation. Professional tier costs $100 per month per seat, unlocking advanced automation, custom reporting, and predictive lead scoring.
Enterprise pricing starts at $150 per month per seat with advanced permissions, playbooks, and conversation intelligence. Marketing Hub, Service Hub, and other products have separate pricing structures, which can increase total cost significantly when combining platforms.
Value Verdict:
HubSpot wins for budget-conscious startups with its robust free tier. Monday CRM offers better predictability for growing teams that need extensive customization without module-based pricing complexity.
User Experience & Interface
Monday CRM delivers an exceptionally visual experience built around colorful, customizable boards. The interface feels familiar to anyone who’s used kanban boards or project management tools. Drag-and-drop functionality makes updating deals effortless, and the learning curve is minimal—most teams become productive within days.
Onboarding includes helpful templates for common sales processes, though the real power emerges when customizing workflows to match your specific needs. The mobile app maintains the desktop experience quality, allowing full access to pipelines and updates on the go.
HubSpot CRM presents a cleaner, more traditional database-style interface. Navigation follows conventional CRM patterns with contacts, companies, deals, and activities clearly separated. The learning curve is moderate—basic features are intuitive, but mastering advanced automation and reporting requires investment.
HubSpot’s onboarding includes guided setup wizards, extensive documentation, and HubSpot Academy courses. The platform rewards this learning investment with sophisticated capabilities. The mobile app is functional but feels more limited compared to the desktop experience, particularly for complex reporting.
Daily usability favors Monday CRM for visual thinkers and teams wanting immediate clarity on pipeline status. HubSpot excels for users needing detailed contact histories, complex segmentation, and integrated marketing campaign tracking.
Automation & AI Capabilities
Monday CRM provides robust workflow automation through a visual, no-code builder. Teams can automate lead assignments, status updates, notifications, and task creation based on customizable triggers. The platform suggests automation opportunities based on repetitive patterns it detects in your workflows.
AI capabilities in Monday CRM remain relatively basic—focused primarily on automation suggestions and some smart integrations. The platform lacks native AI-powered lead scoring, conversation intelligence, or predictive analytics.
HubSpot delivers significantly more sophisticated automation and AI features, particularly in paid tiers. Workflows can trigger based on contact behavior, engagement patterns, form submissions, and dozens of other criteria. The visual workflow builder handles complex, multi-branch sequences with conditional logic.
AI features include ChatSpot (conversational AI assistant), AI-powered content generation for emails and social posts, predictive lead scoring that identifies high-value prospects, and conversation intelligence that analyzes sales calls for coaching opportunities.
Email automation in HubSpot is substantially more powerful, with personalization tokens, A/B testing, smart send times, and detailed engagement tracking. Monday CRM handles basic email sequences but requires third-party integrations for advanced email marketing.
For forecasting and analytics, HubSpot provides predictive deal insights, revenue forecasting, and AI-powered recommendations. Monday CRM offers solid reporting through custom dashboards but lacks predictive capabilities.
Integrations & Ecosystem
Monday CRM connects with over 200 applications through its marketplace, including Gmail, Outlook, Slack, Zoom, Mailchimp, and popular sales tools. The platform supports Zapier and Make.com for additional integration possibilities, though this adds subscription costs.
Native integrations work smoothly, particularly with Monday.com’s own work management platform—creating powerful workflows between sales and project delivery. API access is available across all paid plans, enabling custom integrations for technical teams.
HubSpot offers a significantly larger ecosystem with 1,400+ native integrations through its App Marketplace. Major categories include email marketing, advertising platforms, e-commerce, webinar tools, and business intelligence applications.
The HubSpot API is well-documented and widely supported by third-party developers, making custom integrations straightforward. Data sync capabilities are robust, particularly for two-way synchronization with marketing automation platforms, accounting software, and customer support tools.
HubSpot’s ecosystem advantage becomes particularly valuable for marketing-heavy organizations. Native integrations with Facebook Ads, Google Ads, LinkedIn, and other advertising platforms enable closed-loop reporting from first touch to revenue.
Monday CRM’s integration approach works well for teams with simpler tech stacks, while HubSpot serves organizations building comprehensive, integrated marketing and sales engines.
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Pros and Cons
| CRM Platform | Pros (Strengths) | Cons (Limitations) |
|---|---|---|
| HubSpot CRM | • Free CRM available (true freemium) • Powerful marketing automation & lead nurturing • Unified ecosystem (Sales, Marketing, Service, CMS) • Advanced reporting, attribution & analytics • Strong AI features (lead scoring, forecasting) • Large integration marketplace | • Pricing increases quickly as you scale • Marketing Hub & automation are expensive • Contact-based pricing can be unpredictable • Can feel complex for sales-only teams • Requires onboarding time for full value |
| monday CRM | • Highly customizable sales workflows • Visual, board-based UI (easy to adopt) • Predictable seat-based pricing • Strong collaboration & internal visibility • Fast setup, minimal training required • Excellent for custom sales processes | • No permanent free plan • Limited marketing automation • Reporting less advanced than HubSpot • Fewer native integrations than HubSpot • AI capabilities are still basic |
Who Should Use Monday CRM?
Monday CRM is the right choice for businesses that prioritize visual workflow management, rapid customization, and team adoption speed over comprehensive marketing features.
Ideal business types include B2B service companies, agencies, consulting firms, and SaaS startups that need tight integration between sales processes and project delivery. Companies already using Monday.com for work management gain particular advantage from the unified platform.
Team sizes ranging from 5 to 100 users find Monday CRM’s sweet spot. The platform scales effectively for mid-sized sales teams but may feel limiting for large enterprises with complex sales hierarchies and global operations.
Sales complexity considerations favor Monday CRM for straightforward sales processes with moderate deal cycles. Teams selling projects, services, or products with clear stages benefit from the visual pipeline approach. Complex enterprise sales with multiple stakeholders, lengthy approval chains, and intricate forecasting needs may outgrow the platform’s capabilities.
Choose Monday CRM if you value intuitive design over feature depth, need fast implementation, want flexibility to match the CRM to your process rather than adapting to the software, and prefer straightforward pricing without hidden module costs.
Who Should Use HubSpot CRM?
HubSpot CRM serves businesses building integrated marketing and sales engines, particularly those embracing inbound methodology and content-driven growth strategies.
Ideal business types include B2B and B2C companies with significant marketing activities, e-commerce businesses, educational services, subscription-based businesses, and organizations prioritizing customer education and nurture campaigns. Marketing agencies managing multiple client campaigns also leverage HubSpot’s capabilities effectively.
Team sizes from solo founders to enterprises with thousands of users find appropriate HubSpot tiers. The free plan supports startups testing product-market fit, while Enterprise tiers handle global organizations with complex operations. This scalability represents a significant advantage for high-growth companies.
Marketing-heavy organizations gain disproportionate value from HubSpot’s ecosystem. Businesses investing in content marketing, SEO, paid advertising, social media, email campaigns, and marketing automation find the integrated platform eliminates data silos and attribution challenges.
Choose HubSpot if you need comprehensive marketing automation, want to start free and scale gradually, value extensive integration options, require sophisticated reporting and analytics, have complex lead nurturing sequences, or need AI-powered sales intelligence and conversation analysis.
Monday CRM vs HubSpot – Final Verdict
The “better” CRM depends entirely on your business model, growth stage, and strategic priorities. Neither platform universally outperforms the other—they serve different needs exceptionally well.
Choose Monday CRM if:
- Visual, intuitive interfaces drive your team’s productivity
- You need rapid customization without technical resources
- Sales process flexibility matters more than marketing features
- You’re already using Monday.com for work management
- You want predictable, straightforward pricing
- Your team is 5-100 people with moderate sales complexity
Choose HubSpot if:
- Marketing and sales integration is strategically important
- You want to start with a robust free tier
- Inbound methodology aligns with your growth strategy
- You need sophisticated automation and AI capabilities
- You’re building a scalable, long-term CRM investment
- Your organization values extensive training resources and community
The Bottom Line:
Monday CRM wins on usability, visual design, and customization speed. It’s the faster path to a CRM that works exactly how your team thinks.
HubSpot wins on ecosystem depth, marketing integration, and long-term scalability. It’s the strategic choice for companies building comprehensive customer acquisition and retention engines.
For small teams with limited budgets, HubSpot’s free tier is unbeatable. For growing teams wanting sales process control, Monday CRM delivers faster value. For marketing-driven organizations, HubSpot’s integrated approach justifies the investment.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Is Monday CRM better than HubSpot?
Neither CRM is objectively better—they excel at different things. Monday CRM offers superior visual design, faster customization, and better usability for straightforward sales processes. HubSpot provides more comprehensive marketing features, sophisticated automation, and better scalability for complex organizations. Choose based on whether you prioritize ease of use and flexibility (Monday CRM) or marketing integration and ecosystem depth (HubSpot).
Is HubSpot really free?
Yes, HubSpot CRM is genuinely free with no time limits, user caps, or forced upgrades. The free tier includes contact management, deal tracking, email tracking, meeting scheduling, live chat, and basic reporting. However, advanced features like marketing automation, custom reporting, predictive lead scoring, and workflow automation require paid Sales Hub, Marketing Hub, or Service Hub subscriptions.
Which CRM is better for small businesses?
HubSpot’s free tier makes it ideal for bootstrapped startups and very small teams (1-5 people) just starting with CRM. Monday CRM better serves small businesses with 5-50 employees that can afford the entry cost and value rapid customization. If you’re doing significant marketing, choose HubSpot. If you prioritize sales pipeline clarity and visual management, choose Monday CRM.
Which CRM is better for sales teams?
Monday CRM typically serves pure sales teams better due to its intuitive visual pipeline, faster customization, and focus on deal management. Sales teams appreciate the minimal learning curve and flexibility to match existing processes. HubSpot serves sales teams better when they work closely with marketing, need sophisticated email sequences, or require AI-powered conversation intelligence and predictive analytics.
Can Monday CRM replace HubSpot for marketing automation?
No. Monday CRM lacks the native marketing automation capabilities that HubSpot provides. While Monday CRM handles sales pipeline management excellently, it requires third-party integrations (Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, etc.) for email marketing, lead nurturing, and campaign management. HubSpot’s Marketing Hub offers comprehensive native marketing automation. Choose Monday CRM for sales-focused teams and HubSpot for marketing-sales integration.
Which platform has better reporting?
HubSpot offers more sophisticated native reporting, particularly in paid tiers, with custom report builders, attribution reporting, and predictive analytics. Monday CRM provides good visual dashboards and customizable reporting widgets that work well for sales metrics. For basic sales reporting, both perform adequately. For complex marketing attribution, revenue forecasting, and custom analytics, HubSpot significantly outperforms Monday CRM.
