HubSpot
Mailchimp
| Feature | HubSpot | Mailchimp |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $20/mo | Free / from $13/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.4 / 5 | 4.3 / 5 |
| Best For | growing-businesses, marketing-teams, sales-teams, b2b-companies | small-businesses, startups, solopreneurs, e-commerce |
| Founded | 2006 | 2001 |
| Crm | ✓ | ✗ |
| Email Marketing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Sales Pipeline | ✓ | ✗ |
| Live Chat | ✓ | ✗ |
| Landing Pages | ✓ | ✓ |
| Automation | ✓ | ✓ |
| Reporting | ✓ | ✗ |
| Email Campaigns | ✗ | ✓ |
| Audience Segments | ✗ | ✓ |
| Analytics | ✗ | ✓ |
| Templates | ✗ | ✓ |
| A B Testing | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ HubSpot Pros
- CRM is completely free forever
- All-in-one marketing + sales + service
- Excellent onboarding and academy
- Massive integration ecosystem
✗ HubSpot Cons
- Paid hubs are very expensive
- Contracts are annual
- Can be overkill for small teams
✓ Mailchimp Pros
- Free tier for up to 500 contacts
- Easy drag-and-drop email builder
- Built-in automation workflows
- Good reporting and analytics
✗ Mailchimp Cons
- Gets expensive as list grows
- Automation less powerful than competitors
- Limited A/B testing on lower plans
The Verdict
HubSpot is built for growing businesses and marketing teams, with a focus on crm and email-marketing. Mailchimp targets small businesses and startups and leads with email-campaigns and automation.
On pricing, Mailchimp is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $13/mo compared to $20/mo for HubSpot. That $7/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.
