Skip to main content
In the previous guide we focused on functional differences between Salesforce and HubSpot. This one goes a step further and explains how much cost reduction you can expect through a practical simulation.

​
1. First, understand HubSpot’s free CRM features

HubSpot offers free CRM functionality. Even before upgrading to a paid plan, the free tier is enough to test whether it fits your business. Key free features include:
  • Contact management: manage leads and customers
  • Company management: organize and centralize account data
  • Deal management: visualize pipelines and stages
  • Email marketing (free up to a certain volume)
  • Basic reporting
All of the above is free. Start with the free tier, get comfortable with the UI, and consider paid plans once new needs arise.

​
2. Rough pricing for HubSpot paid plans

For exact pricing, check HubSpot’s official pricing page. The ranges below are rough examples at the time of writing:
  • Marketing Hub Professional
    • About JPY 100,000 per month and up
  • Marketing Hub Enterprise
    • About JPY 430,000 per month and up
  • Sales Hub
    • Professional: about JPY 10,000 per user and up
    • Enterprise: about JPY 18,000 per user and up
Always verify current pricing on the official site. This guide is not about detailed price tables, but about the impact of cost reduction after migration.

​
3. Common cost reduction patterns after migrating to HubSpot

In practice, we see a growing number of Salesforce to HubSpot migration requests. Based on many projects, 30 to 50 percent annual contract cost reduction is common.

​
Why does it drop this much?

The biggest difference is how user licenses are handled.
  • In Salesforce:
    • Even view-only users are often counted as paid users
    • Many companies pay for 30 to 40 licenses
  • In HubSpot:
    • View-only users are free
    • Only users who edit or operate need paid seats
So in cases like this:
“We only need full access for 10 people, but we are paying for 30 licenses”
Reworking user design alone can drive large savings.

​
4. Assumptions for the cost simulation

Here is the example used for the simulation.

​
Period

  • 3 years, from 2025 to 2027
  • Monthly cost calculations

​
Salesforce assumptions

  • Current monthly cost: JPY 500,000
  • Annual increase (or reduced discount): 8 percent per year
In practice, annual increases of 7 to 9 percent are common.

​
HubSpot assumptions

  • Monthly cost after migration: JPY 250,000, about half of Salesforce
  • Annual increase (or reduced discount): 5 percent per year
This assumes benefits such as:
  • Free view-only users
  • Consolidating apps to reduce license costs

​
One-time migration cost

  • Initial migration and implementation cost: JPY 1,000,000
This can include:
  • Requirements and design
  • Data migration (Salesforce -> HubSpot)
  • Basic configuration and customization
  • Training and enablement support
If you do it in-house, treat it as labor cost. If you use a partner, the actual cost depends on the quote. This example assumes an efficient migration with tools and know-how, and uses JPY 1,000,000 as a realistic baseline.

​
5. Simulation results: how quickly do you break even?

Using the assumptions above, the simulation shows the following.

​
5-1. Breakeven point

  • Salesforce: JPY 500,000 per month (grows 8 percent annually)
  • HubSpot: JPY 250,000 per month (grows 5 percent annually)
  • Initial cost: JPY 1,000,000
With these assumptions, the initial cost is recovered in about 4 months. In other words:
“Within half a year, the lower HubSpot costs offset the migration investment.”

​
5-2. Annual savings

Comparing total costs over 3 years yields savings like:
  • Year 1: about JPY 2.27 million
  • Year 2: about JPY 5.63 million
  • Year 3: about JPY 9.02 million
Across 3 years, this can be close to JPY 10 million in savings, which directly impacts profit. The savings typically come from:
  • Lower tool costs
  • Reduced indirect IT expenses
Of course, if migration reduces critical functionality or breaks operations, it defeats the purpose. The key premise is: Functionality is maintained or improved, while costs decrease.

​
6. About the simulation template

This simulation is done with an Excel-based CRM migration template. You can enter and adjust:
  • Current monthly Salesforce cost
  • Annual price increase rate
  • Expected HubSpot monthly cost after migration
  • HubSpot annual price increase rate
  • One-time migration cost
  • Period (years to analyze)
The template automatically calculates:
  • Monthly and annual cost trends
  • Breakeven point (months to recover initial cost)
  • Cumulative savings by year
By plugging in your own numbers, you can make migration decisions based on data, not intuition.

​
7. Cost reduction is the start, not the goal

Everything above focuses only on cost. In real projects, you can also expect upside such as:
  • Higher productivity by unifying marketing, sales, and customer support on one platform
  • Faster decision-making with end-to-end visibility of data
  • More repeatable operations by moving away from person-dependent processes
That means:
Profit improves through cost reduction plus a stronger foundation to grow revenue
This is the real value of a CRM migration project.

​
8. Summary: be ready to speak in numbers

When proposing a Salesforce to HubSpot migration internally, it is hard to convince decision makers with:
  • “It seems cheaper”
  • “More companies are doing it”
Instead, if you can:
  • Make assumptions explicit
  • Compare cost trends over 3 years
  • Show breakeven points and savings in numbers
Then internal agreement and approvals become much easier.

​
9. Next article

Next, we will cover:
  • Why migration from Salesforce to HubSpot is increasing now
  • What kinds of companies are a good fit
  • What to prepare before starting a migration
If you are thinking “maybe it is time to review our setup,” check the next article as well.