HubSpot vs Pipedrive for a small agency
Seat price ladders side by side, plus the onboarding fees that change your first-year bill.
Choose HubSpot when your agency wants marketing and sales in one database, or needs a free start for two users. Choose Pipedrive when you want a sales pipeline at a lower seat price from the middle tier up, on a simpler ladder.
The short answer
- HubSpot Sales Hub costs $0 for up to 2 users, then $7, $90 and $150 a seat a month on annual billing, per hubspot.com/pricing/sales, checked September 2026.
- HubSpot adds a one-time onboarding fee of $1,500 on Professional and $3,500 on Enterprise.
- Pipedrive costs $14, $39, $59 and $79 a seat a month for Lite, Growth, Premium and Ultimate on annual billing, per pipedrive.com/en/pricing, checked September 2026.
- Pipedrive is cheaper per seat from the middle tier up. HubSpot is cheaper at the entry tier and free for two users.
Is Pipedrive cheaper than HubSpot? Tier by tier
Per seat, per month, billed annually. One-time fees listed separately.
| Tier level | HubSpot Sales Hub | Pipedrive | Cheaper per seat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 (Free, up to 2 users) | No free plan listed | HubSpot |
| Entry | $7 (Starter) | $14 (Lite) | HubSpot |
| Middle | $90 (Professional) + $1,500 onboarding | $39 (Growth) or $59 (Premium) | Pipedrive |
| Top | $150 (Enterprise) + $3,500 onboarding | $79 (Ultimate) | Pipedrive |
| Monthly billing | $20 (Starter), $100 (Professional) | Annual rates shown on the pricing page | Check at checkout |
Figures checked on hubspot.com/pricing/sales and pipedrive.com/en/pricing, September 2026. Add-ons such as Pipedrive LeadBooster are billed on top.
What each one does well, and where it costs you
HubSpot
- A free plan for up to 2 users, and a $7 Starter seat that includes onboarding
- Marketing, sales and service share one contact database, which suits an agency that runs its own inbound
- Professional jumps to $90 a seat plus a $1,500 onboarding fee, checked September 2026
- Marketing Hub is priced apart from Sales Hub, so full marketing tools mean a second bill
Pipedrive
- Seat prices from $14 to $79 across four plans, so a middle-tier seat costs less than HubSpot Professional
- A visual pipeline is the main screen, so reps who just move deals learn it fast
- No free plan listed; the cheapest seat is $14 against HubSpot Starter's $7
- Lead capture and document tools sit in paid add-ons billed on top of the seat price
How to choose for a small agency
Start with the tier you'll actually run, not the entry price. If your team needs forecasting and automation, you're comparing HubSpot Professional at $90 a seat with Pipedrive Growth at $39 or Premium at $59. That gap grows with every hire, and HubSpot's $1,500 onboarding fee lands in year one.
Then ask where your leads come from. If your agency wins work through its own content, email and forms, HubSpot keeps that data next to your deals. If work comes from referrals, outbound or a partner network, you'd be paying HubSpot for marketing tools you won't open.
Two people with no budget? HubSpot's free plan is the easy start. Five or more people who need real pipeline reports? Price Pipedrive Growth first. For the full seat math on the Pipedrive side, see how much Pipedrive costs, and for HubSpot's tiers see what HubSpot Sales Hub costs.
For a third option, monday CRM vs Pipedrive sets Pipedrive against a board-based CRM. If you run sales for clients, the SalesCrew agency plan and the pricing page show a flat price with unlimited seats.
Questions agencies ask
- Is Pipedrive cheaper than HubSpot for a growing team?
- Pipedrive is cheaper per seat from the middle tier up, and HubSpot is cheaper at the entry tier. HubSpot Sales Hub Starter is $7 a seat a month against Pipedrive Lite at $14. At the next step, Pipedrive Growth is $39 and Premium $59, while HubSpot Professional is $90 plus a one-time $1,500 onboarding fee. Prices are annual billing, checked September 2026.
- Which is better for a small agency, HubSpot or Pipedrive?
- Pick HubSpot if your agency runs its own inbound marketing and wants it in the same database as sales. Pick Pipedrive if you mostly need a clear deal pipeline for new-client work. A five-person agency that never sends newsletters from its CRM pays for less with Pipedrive above the entry tier.
- Does HubSpot have a free plan that Pipedrive lacks?
- HubSpot's free Sales Hub plan covers up to 2 users at $0, per hubspot.com/pricing/sales in September 2026. Pipedrive's pricing page lists four paid plans, Lite through Ultimate, from $14 to $79 a seat. So a two-person team can start on HubSpot without paying anything.
- Can you move from HubSpot to Pipedrive later?
- Yes. Pipedrive's spreadsheet import takes people, organizations, leads, deals, activities and notes, up to 50,000 rows and 50 MB per file, per its support centre in September 2026. HubSpot's marketing assets, like emails and landing pages, have no matching place in Pipedrive, so plan to rebuild or retire them.
- Is there a CRM priced by plan rather than per seat?
- Yes. SalesCrew charges $299 a month for Core with unlimited seats, so a new hire doesn't change the bill. Core includes the pipeline, a shared inbox and cadences sent from your own mailbox pool. Disclosure: SalesCrew is our product.