Two tools, side by side. Openness included.

HubSpot gives your business one place to manage marketing, sales, and customer service — instead of juggling several different apps. You get a free CRM (customer relationship manager) that tracks every contact, email, and deal in one view. Many companies use it, from solo founders to mid-size teams. The free plan is genuinely useful. You get contact management, email marketing, live chat, basic bots, forms, and reporting dashboards — no credit card required. When you're ready for more, the Starter plan begins at $9 per month per seat, which adds automation and removes HubSpot branding. Here's the catch: the jump from Starter to Professional is steep. Pro starts at $800 per month plus a mandatory $3,000 onboarding fee. That's a big leap for a small team. But if you're growing fast and need advanced workflows, lead scoring, and social media tools, it can replace several separate subscriptions and may lower your overall software costs.

Copper is a CRM (customer relationship management tool) built specifically for teams that live in Google Workspace. It works right inside Gmail and Google Calendar, automatically logging emails, creating contacts, and tracking your sales pipeline without you switching between apps. A visual sales pipeline lets you drag and drop deals through custom stages. Built-in project tracking helps manage post-sale work like onboarding and delivery. Pricing starts at $29/month per user. No free tier.

• The pricing jump from Starter to Pro is brutal — you go from $9/month per seat to $800/month plus a mandatory $3,000 onboarding fee, which can blindside growing teams
• Costs grow as your contact list grows — HubSpot charges based on how many contacts you store, so a fast-growing email list can push your bill up quickly
• Six separate hubs can overwhelm small teams — if you only need email marketing, the sheer size of the platform can feel like driving a semi-truck to the grocery store
• AI features use a credit system with unclear pricing — it's hard to predict what your monthly AI bill will look like, and some features are still in beta

• Only works well with Google Workspace — not for Microsoft 365 shops
• Reporting and customization basic compared to HubSpot or Salesforce
• Email marketing features are limited — still need a separate email tool
• Automation capabilities behind competitors like HubSpot and Zoho CRM

HubSpot is the best fit for growing teams that want one platform for marketing, sales, and customer service instead of stitching together separate tools. The number one reason to choose it: the free CRM is one of the most complete on the market, so you can start without spending a dollar and upgrade only when you actually need more. Just plan ahead for the pricing jump to Pro — that leap from the Starter tier catches a lot of small businesses off guard.

Copper is the best CRM for small businesses on Google Workspace. The Gmail integration alone saves hours of data entry each week. If your team already uses Gmail, Calendar, and Drive daily, Copper feels like a natural extension. You may outgrow it past 30-40 employees for advanced automation and reporting.