Here's a question we hear constantly: "We need a CRM but our sales team lives on the phone. Should we just go with HubSpot?"
The honest answer? It depends on whether you want a marketing empire with a CRM attached, or a sales tool that actually dials for you.
We spent three weeks with both platforms — running real deals, making real calls, and yelling at real automations. Here's what we found.
"Freshsales gives you a built-in phone system on the free plan. HubSpot wants you to pay an extra $50/mo for the same thing. That's the whole debate in one sentence."
Quick Verdict
Freshsales wins for phone-heavy teams on a budget. Its built-in dialer, AI lead scoring, and lower price point make it the smarter pick for small sales teams that actually talk to prospects. HubSpot wins if you need the broader ecosystem — email marketing, a massive app marketplace, and the best free CRM training on earth.
1. At a Glance
| Dimension | HubSpot | Freshsales |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | Free (core included) | Free (limited) |
| Free Tier | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Very generous | ⭐⭐⭐ Limited but functional |
| Built-in Phone | ❌ (Add-on $50/mo) | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Included free |
| Email Tracking | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Free (2,000/day) | ⭐⭐⭐ Limited on free |
| AI Lead Scoring | ⭐⭐⭐ (Sales Hub Pro) | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Freddy AI (Growth plan) |
| Workflow Automation | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rich & scalable | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Good (Growth plan) |
| Integrations | 1,000+ | 300+ |
| Best For | Teams wanting free all-in-one CRM | Teams wanting built-in phone & AI |
2. Pricing — Where Freshsales Gets Nasty (In a Good Way)
HubSpot Pricing
Sales Hub Free gives you contact management, deal tracking, meeting links, live chat, and 2,000 emails/day. No credit card. It's legitimately useful. Starter ($20/mo) for 2 users. Professional ($100/mo) adds sequences and lead scoring.
But here's the catch: want phone calling? That's Calling Hub at $50/mo extra. Want sequences on the free plan? Nope.
Heads up: HubSpot's free plan is incredible, but its upsell pressure is relentless. Every screen has a "Go Pro" button. It's not a dealbreaker, but it gets old fast.
Freshsales Pricing
Free plan — contact management, built-in phone, email tracking, 3 users. Growth ($9/user/mo) adds lead scoring, workflow automation, and multi-line layouts. Pro ($39/user/mo) adds territory management and advanced AI.
For a 5-person sales team: Freshsales Growth ($45/mo total) vs HubSpot Professional ($100/mo) before you even add phone. That gap matters.
3. The Phone Gap (And Why It Matters)
This is the single biggest difference between these two, and most comparison articles gloss over it. Freshsales includes a full phone system on the free plan. Call logging, recording, click-to-dial from the browser — it's all there. HubSpot requires Calling Hub ($50/mo) or a third-party integration.
We tested both setups. With Freshsales, we were making calls within 10 minutes of signing up. With HubSpot, we had to configure Twilio integration and still hit a paywall.
If your sales process involves more than 20 calls a day, Freshsales saves you real money. If you're mostly emailing and scheduling demos, HubSpot's free email tracking is better.
AI & Automation
Freshsales' Freddy AI scores leads based on engagement, predicts deal likelihood, and suggests next actions — included in Growth ($9/user/mo). HubSpot's lead scoring requires Professional ($100/mo). Freshsales delivers better AI value at a fraction of the cost.
That said, HubSpot's workflow automation is more powerful. If you need complex multi-step sequences across deals, contacts, and emails, HubSpot's tools are deeper.
4. Learning Curve
Freshsales has the cleaner interface. It's less cluttered, more modern. You can onboard a new rep in an afternoon. HubSpot is busier — more features means more buttons — but HubSpot Academy is genuinely the best free CRM training anywhere.
Winner depends on who you are: if you want to just use the tool, Freshsales. If you want to learn CRM best practices first, HubSpot.
5. Integrations
HubSpot has 1,000+ integrations in its App Marketplace. Freshsales has 300+ — covers the essentials (Mailchimp, Stripe, Zapier, QuickBooks). For most small businesses, both have enough. But if you need a niche integration, HubSpot almost certainly has it.
6. Pros & Cons
HubSpot
👍 Pros
- Best free CRM plan on the market
- 2,000 free emails/day — unmatched
- 1,000+ integrations
- HubSpot Academy is incredible
👎 Cons
- Phone costs extra ($50/mo)
- Aggressive upsell prompts
- Interface can feel bloated
- Lead scoring requires $100/mo plan
Freshsales
👍 Pros
- Built-in phone on free plan
- Freddy AI at $9/user/mo is a steal
- Cleaner, more modern UI
- Much cheaper for teams of 5+
👎 Cons
- Smaller app marketplace (300+)
- Less powerful workflows
- Free plan email is limited
- Less brand recognition
7. The Ugly Truth
Neither tool is perfect. HubSpot's free plan is the best gateway drug in CRM — you'll love it until you need phone support or lead scoring, then you'll feel the pain. Freshsales gives you more at the low end but its automation capabilities top out faster as you scale.
If you're a solopreneur doing email-heavy outreach, HubSpot free is hard to beat. If you're a 5-person sales team making 50 calls a day, Freshsales saves you $100+/mo and delivers a better calling experience.
8. Verdict
• You want the best free CRM to start with
• You need a huge app ecosystem for future growth
• You value free training resources
• Budget is tight and you need AI features under $10/user/mo
• You want a cleaner interface that reps will actually adopt
• You're a team of 3+ and per-user pricing matters