HubSpot vs SugarAI (formerly SugarCRM) (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick HubSpot: it is first in our ranking of CRM tools, and it grades higher too, 3.2 against 1.6.
Checked Oct 4, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
HubSpot grades higher on value for money, the free plan, features and ease of use. They get the same grade on platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
HubSpot
Free CRM at the center of a marketing, sales and service suite
SugarAI (formerly SugarCRM)
B2B sales CRM with AI guidance on opportunities and risk
Which one is for you
Pick HubSpot if
- Fits if there are one or two of you with under 1,000 contacts and you want to pay nothing
- Works for teams that want sales, marketing and support on the same customer record
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you're past 1,000 contacts or 2 users and won't pay, because that's where free stops
- Pricey if you need sequences and custom workflows: Sales Hub Professional is $90 a seat plus $1,500 up front
- Not for you if you want one plain price: it's bundles, hubs, seat types and credits that don't roll over
- Watch out: the $7 Starter offer is for new customers against a $20 list price, and another page says from $15
- Tight if you sell on the road, as reviewers say the phone app does less than the website and there's no desktop app
Pick SugarAI (formerly SugarCRM) if
- Fits if you sell B2B and want AI prompts on which deals are at risk
- Works for teams with an ERP whose purchase data should feed the CRM
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you want forecasting or mail sync: $98 a user a month
- Skip it if you want to try it free, as there is no plan or trial
- Watch out: Zoom and Teams transcripts are $20 more per user a month
- Watch out: it was renamed from SugarCRM, and the old address redirects
How we grade them
| 3.2GPAHubSpotVery good | 1.6GPASugarAI (formerly SugarCRM)Weak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CStarter lists at $20 a seat, mid-pack for the CRMs here, and new customers get it from $7. Then it jumps: Sales Hub Professional is $90 a seat plus a one-time $1,500 onboarding fee, when Zoho CRM starts at $14 a user. Mid-priced at the bottom, dear at the top. | D$68 a user a month billed annually, and the features most teams want start at $98 on Advanced+, against a category middle of $29. Meeting transcripts cost $20 more per user. |
| Free plan and trial | BFree with no end date for 2 users and 1,000 contacts, with deal pipelines, email tracking, live chat, a meeting link and dashboards. But 1,000 contacts is a wall you'll hit, and HubSpot's logo sits on your chat and marketing emails. | FNo free plan and no trial on the pricing page. |
| Features | AThe CRM job, then marketing, service and content tools all reading from the same customer record; no other CRM here covers all four. Email tracking, calling, workflows, dashboards, an AI assistant and more than 2,000 integrations. Much of it is locked to paid tiers. | CPipeline management, AI guidance, meeting prep and an ERP link on higher plans. Forecasting and mail and calendar sync need Advanced+ at $98. |
| Ease of use | A4.7 from about 15,700 App Store ratings, the highest score among the CRMs here with that many ratings. It runs in a browser with nothing to install, and adding a contact fills in the company details for you. | CNo store rating on record. Guided selling and ERP workflows mean a configured rollout, not a sign-up and go. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with a Chrome extension for Gmail and an add-in for Outlook, but no desktop app. More than 2,000 integrations and an API, the longest list in this category. | BWeb with mobile on the lower plans, plus Zoom and Microsoft Teams. No desktop app is shown. |
| Best for | small businesses starting with a free CRM | a B2B sales CRM with AI guidance |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: HubSpot and SugarAI (formerly SugarCRM). How we grade
Price against what you get
HubSpot starts at $20 a month for each person and scores 3.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. SugarAI (formerly SugarCRM) starts at $68 a month for each person and scores 2.3.
HubSpot scores higher and starts $48 a month lower. Of the other CRM tools on the chart, none scores higher than HubSpot for less, and 40 score higher than SugarAI (formerly SugarCRM) for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- HubSpot also covers booking links and marketing automation.
- SugarAI (formerly SugarCRM) also covers chat assistant, calendar and reports.
At a glance
| HubSpot | SugarAI (formerly SugarCRM) | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Paid |
| Starts at | $20 per seat / month for Starter (new customers: from $7, billed annually) | $68 per user / month, billed annually |
| Free plan | Free tools for up to 2 users and 1,000 contacts with no expiry date: contact management, deal pipelines, tasks, email tracking, live chat, a meeting link and reporting dashboards. Live chat and marketing emails carry HubSpot branding. | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of HubSpot's paid sales tools; the free tools themselves do not expire | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | HubSpot, Inc. | SugarAI |
| Price read from | hubspot.com | sugarai.com |
| Checked | Oct 4, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
HubSpot
- The free tools stop at 2 users and 1,000 contacts, and free live chat and marketing emails carry HubSpot branding.
- Sales Hub Professional and Enterprise each require a one-time onboarding fee ($1,500 and $3,500) on top of the seat price.
- Paid tiers are split across a Starter bundle, Smart CRM and separate hubs, so the total depends on which products and how many seats you buy.
- The $7 Starter price is a limited-time offer for new customers against a $20 list price, and HubSpot's CRM product page shows a different new-customer price, from $15 per seat.
SugarAI (formerly SugarCRM)
- There is no free plan or trial on the pricing page; the entry price is $68 per user a month on annual billing.
- Sugar Connect+ for Zoom and Teams meeting transcripts is an extra $20 per user a month.
- Forecasting, mail and calendar integration, and the AI assistant need Advanced+ at $98.
- The product was renamed from SugarCRM, and sugarcrm.com now redirects to sugarai.com.
Key features
HubSpot
- Free CRM tools
- Contact management, deal pipelines, task and activity tracking, CRM import and reporting dashboards are free for up to 2 users and 1,000 contacts, with no expiry date.
- Sales email and meeting tools
- Email tracking, templates and a meeting scheduler work inside HubSpot or from the inbox, through a Chrome extension for Gmail and an Office 365 add-in for Outlook.
- Workflows and sales automation
- Workflows automate follow-ups and record updates. Sales Hub Professional allows up to 300 fully customizable workflows; lower tiers have fewer triggers and actions.
- Breeze AI and HubSpot Credits
- Breeze Assistant answers questions from CRM data, and agents run on HubSpot Credits. Paid tiers include 500, 3,000 or 5,000 credits a month, and unused credits do not roll over.
- Calling and conversation tools
- Calls can be placed and logged from the CRM, with a monthly allowance of calling minutes that grows by tier. Sales Hub Professional adds call transcription and playbooks.
- Connected hubs and integrations
- The CRM shares one customer database with HubSpot's marketing, service, content and data hubs, and HubSpot lists more than 2,000 integrations.
SugarAI (formerly SugarCRM)
- Opportunity and pipeline management
- Guided sales processes, opportunity tracking and pipeline management for forecasting, from the Standard+ package up.
- AI guidance
- SugarAI flags accounts with the most upside and early warning signs on deals. Sugar Cube AI Assistant starts at Advanced+.
- Meeting preparation
- Pulls account context together before each meeting. Advanced+ and Premier+ include meeting preparation.
- Sugar Predict
- Uses ERP purchase data to suggest cross-sell items, reorder windows and churn signals, in the quoted Precision+ packages.
- ERP integration and workflows
- The vendor says it connects to modern and legacy systems including most ERPs, with no-code and low-code workflow settings.
Plans
HubSpot
Free Tools$0
Up to 2 users and 1,000 contacts, with contact management, deal pipelines, live chat and reporting dashboards. No credit card required.
Starter$20
per seat / month; new customers from $7, billed annually
A bundle of the Starter editions of the marketing, sales, service, content and data hubs. Removes HubSpot branding and includes 500 HubSpot Credits.
Smart CRM Professional$45
per seat / month, annual commitment ($50 billed monthly)
CRM-only tier with up to 100 pipelines, 100 custom reports, 75 dashboards and 3,000 HubSpot Credits.
Smart CRM Enterprise$75
per seat / month
CRM-only tier with up to 350 pipelines, 500 custom reports, 200 calculated properties and 5,000 HubSpot Credits.
Sales Hub Professional$90
per seat / month, annual commitment ($100 billed monthly)
Sales Hub only: up to 300 customizable workflows, call transcription and playbooks. A one-time $1,500 onboarding fee is required.
Sales Hub Enterprise$150
per seat / month
Sales Hub only: adds forecasting across team hierarchies and more advanced automation. A one-time $3,500 onboarding fee is required.
SugarAI (formerly SugarCRM)
Standard+$68
per user / month, billed annually
Sales cycle management, business process management, analytics and mobile.
Advanced+$98
per user / month, billed annually
Adds forecasting, mail and calendar integration, geo mapping, AI summaries and the Sugar Cube AI assistant.
Premier+$155
per user / month, billed annually
Adds data enrichment, a news feed, Smart Guides and Discover.
Precision+Custom
Advanced or Premier Plus with Sugar Predict, which uses ERP purchase data for retention and cross-sell. Contact sales.
Ways to pay less
HubSpot
- Other savings
New-customer Starter offer: from $7 per seat
For a limited time, new customers pay $7 per seat a month billed annually, or $10 billed monthly, instead of the $20 list price for Starter. HubSpot gives no end date.
- Annual discount
Lower seat price with an annual commitment
Sales Hub Professional is $90 per seat a month on an annual commitment versus $100 paid monthly. Smart CRM Professional is $45 versus $50.
- Startups
HubSpot for Startups: up to 90% off
Startups with pre-seed to Series A funding can get 90% off in year one, 50% in year two and 25% in year three. Others tied to an approved partner get 30%, then 15%. Professional and Enterprise products only.
- Nonprofit
40% off for eligible nonprofits
New customers registered as nonprofits in North America, Australia or New Zealand get 40% off Professional and Enterprise products on a one-year contract. Starter is excluded.
SugarAI (formerly SugarCRM)
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, HubSpot or SugarAI (formerly SugarCRM)?
As of Nov 13, 2026, HubSpot is cheaper to start with: $20 a month for each person, against $68 a month for each person for SugarAI (formerly SugarCRM). HubSpot starts at $20 per seat / month for Starter (new customers: from $7, billed annually), and SugarAI (formerly SugarCRM) starts at $68 per user / month, billed annually.
Which has a free plan, HubSpot or SugarAI (formerly SugarCRM)?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only HubSpot has a free plan. SugarAI (formerly SugarCRM) does not.
Which platforms do HubSpot and SugarAI (formerly SugarCRM) run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only HubSpot lists iOS and Android apps and a browser extension. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.