The Honest Truth About HubSpot

HubSpot is genuinely excellent software. Their CRM is free and capable. Their marketing tools are comprehensive. Their sales tools are powerful. If you need an all-in-one platform and have the budget, HubSpot delivers.

The problem is cost. HubSpot Marketing Hub Professional—the first tier with proper automation—costs $890/month for just 2,000 contacts. Each additional 5,000 contacts is $250/month. At 10,000 contacts, you're looking at ~$1,390/month plus a mandatory $3,000 onboarding fee.

For most SaaS founders, that's overkill.

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When should you choose Sequenzy?

1. You Don't Need an All-in-One Platform

If you just need email marketing—campaigns, automations, transactional emails—Sequenzy does that at a fraction of the cost. You don't need to pay for CMS, social media, help desk, and sales tools you won't use.

2. You're Budget-Conscious

Sequenzy is $49/month for 10,000 subscribers. HubSpot is ~$1,390/month for the same plus a $3,000 onboarding fee. That's a $16,000+ difference in year one. For early-stage SaaS, that budget is better spent elsewhere.

3. You Want SaaS-Specific Features

Sequenzy integrates directly with Stripe and understands SaaS metrics—MRR, churn, subscription status. HubSpot is more generic and requires custom setup for SaaS use cases.

4. You Value Simplicity

HubSpot has a steep learning curve. There are hundreds of settings, tools, and options. Sequenzy is focused—you can set up your first automation in minutes, not days.

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When should you stick with HubSpot?

1. You Need Everything in One Place

HubSpot combines CRM, marketing, sales, and service. If you want one platform for your entire customer lifecycle—from first touch to customer support—HubSpot is unmatched. We only do email.

2. You Have the Budget

If ~$1,400/month plus onboarding fees doesn't strain your budget, HubSpot's breadth is worth it. The tools work together seamlessly, and the free CRM alone is valuable.

3. You Need Advanced Sales Tools

HubSpot's sales sequences, meeting scheduling, and deal pipelines are excellent. We don't have sales tools. If your team does outbound sales, HubSpot enables that workflow.

4. You're Building a Marketing Team

HubSpot excels for marketing teams with designers, content writers, and social media managers. It has landing pages, blog hosting, social scheduling, and SEO tools. We're a focused tool for founders, not a team platform.

5. You Need Marketing Attribution

HubSpot's marketing attribution is sophisticated. You can trace revenue back to specific campaigns and channels with multi-touch attribution. We have campaign analytics but not HubSpot-level attribution.

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Honest Limitations of Sequenzy

• No CRM: HubSpot's CRM is genuinely free and good. We don't have one.
• No sales tools: No sequences, meeting scheduling, or deal tracking.
• No landing pages: You'll need a separate tool.
• No CMS: No blog hosting or website builder.
• No social media: We don't manage social channels.
• No customer service: No help desk or knowledge base.
• Smaller ecosystem: ~20 integrations vs 1,500+.
• Simpler reporting: Less sophisticated than HubSpot.

Honest Limitations of HubSpot

• Expensive: ~$1,390/month for 10k contacts on Marketing Hub Professional.
• Mandatory onboarding: $3,000-7,000 fee required for Pro/Enterprise.
• Annual contracts: Pro/Enterprise require yearly commitment.
• Overwhelming: Hundreds of features create a steep learning curve.
• Not SaaS-specialized: Generic platform, not built for software businesses.
• Pricing complexity: Contact tiers, add-ons, and Hubs make costs hard to predict.
• Overkill for email: If you just need email, you're paying for tools you won't use.