Brevo vs HubSpot CRM: Which One Is Better for Growing Businesses in 2025?

Abdullah BS Dec 5 No Comments Blog

As a digital marketer who has spent more than a decade helping startups, small businesses, agencies, and SaaS companies grow, I’ve seen one thing clearly change over the years:

👉 CRM software is no longer just about managing contacts — it’s about automation, revenue, and long-term scalability.

In 2025, two names come up again and again when businesses look for a CRM that also supports marketing:

Brevo (formerly Sendinblue)
HubSpot CRM

I’ve implemented HubSpot CRM for funded startups and large teams. I’ve also used Brevo CRM for bootstrapped businesses, ecommerce brands, agencies, and service providers. Both are excellent — but they are built for very different stages and mindsets.

This article is not theory. It’s based on real usage, campaign testing, sales pipeline setup, automation workflows, and cost analysis after years of hands-on experience.

Let’s break it down honestly.

Quick Verdict (If You’re Short on Time)

Choose Brevo if you want an affordable, all-in-one CRM with email marketing, automation, SMS, and sales pipelines — without enterprise-level costs.
Choose HubSpot CRM if you need a powerful, enterprise-ready CRM with deep reporting, sales enablement, and large team collaboration — and you can afford it.

Now let’s go deep.

Brevo vs HubSpot CRM: Platform Overview

Feature	Brevo CRM	HubSpot CRM
Founded	2012 (France)	2006 (USA)
Target Market	SMBs & growing businesses	SMBs to enterprises
Core Focus	CRM + Email + Automation	CRM + Sales + Marketing
Pricing Model	Affordable, modular	Freemium → Expensive
CRM Included	Yes	Yes
Email Marketing	Built-in	Paid add-on
Marketing Automation	Yes	Limited on free
SMS & WhatsApp	Yes	Limited / Paid
Best For	Cost-conscious growth	Scale & enterprise teams

1. Pricing & Cost Transparency (Biggest Difference)

Brevo CRM Pricing (2025)

Brevo’s biggest strength is pricing clarity.

Free CRM included
Email marketing based on emails sent, not contacts
Automation available on low-tier plans
No forced upgrades for basic CRM use

You can realistically run:

CRM
Email marketing
Automation
SMS campaigns

…for a fraction of what HubSpot charges.

Real experience:
I’ve onboarded 5–10 person teams on Brevo CRM with automation running — without budget stress.

HubSpot CRM Pricing (2025)

HubSpot uses a freemium entry → expensive scaling model.

Free CRM is very basic
Marketing Hub, Sales Hub, Service Hub are separate
Costs rise quickly with:
- Contacts
- Automation
- Reporting
- Team size

It’s common for growing businesses to hit $500–$2,000+/month once they unlock real features.

Real experience:
HubSpot is excellent — but many businesses outgrow its budget before they outgrow its features.

Pricing Verdict

🏆 Winner: Brevo
For growing businesses watching ROI, Brevo is far more sustainable.

2. CRM Core Features & Contact Management

Brevo CRM

Brevo CRM includes:

Contact management
Deal pipelines
Custom stages
Notes & tasks
Activity tracking
Lead scoring

It’s simple, clean, and effective — especially for:

Agencies
Consultants
SaaS startups
Ecommerce brands

HubSpot CRM

HubSpot CRM is extremely robust:

Advanced deal pipelines
Deep contact timelines
Email tracking
Call logging
Meeting scheduling
Custom objects (paid)

For sales-heavy teams, this is a huge advantage.

CRM Depth Verdict

🏆 Winner: HubSpot CRM
HubSpot is more powerful — no question.

3. Marketing Automation & Email Marketing

This is where Brevo quietly beats HubSpot for many growing businesses.

Brevo Automation

Brevo includes:

Visual automation workflows
Behavior-based triggers
Website tracking
Email + SMS automation
CRM-based workflows

You can build:

Lead nurturing funnels
Onboarding sequences
Sales follow-ups
Re-engagement campaigns

All without paying enterprise prices.

HubSpot Automation

HubSpot automation is powerful — but:

Locked behind Marketing Hub Professional
Requires expensive upgrades
Complex to configure

For companies that can afford it, HubSpot automation is excellent. For most SMBs, it’s overkill.

Automation Verdict

🏆 Winner: Brevo (for growing businesses)
🏆 HubSpot (for enterprise budgets)

4. Email Marketing Capabilities

Brevo

Brevo was originally built as an email platform, and it shows.

Strengths:

Excellent deliverability
Transactional + marketing emails
Unlimited contacts
Strong segmentation
Affordable high-volume sending

HubSpot

HubSpot’s email marketing is good but:

Limited on free plans
Better suited for sales emails
Marketing emails require paid tiers

Email Marketing Verdict

🏆 Winner: Brevo

5. Sales Pipeline & Deal Management

Brevo Sales Tools

Visual pipelines
Manual deal tracking
Tasks & reminders
Lightweight sales CRM

Great for:

Small sales teams
Service businesses
Agencies

HubSpot Sales Hub

Advanced pipelines
Sales automation
Forecasting
Team performance analytics
Email sequences

This is where HubSpot truly shines.

Sales Tools Verdict

🏆 Winner: HubSpot CRM

6. Reporting & Analytics

Brevo Reporting

Campaign performance
Automation tracking
Sales pipeline insights
Contact engagement

Simple, actionable, not overwhelming.

HubSpot Reporting

Custom dashboards
Revenue attribution
Funnel analytics
Multi-touch reporting

Enterprise-level insights — but complex.

Analytics Verdict

🏆 Winner: HubSpot CRM

7. Ease of Use & Learning Curve

Brevo

Clean interface
Faster onboarding
Easier for non-technical teams

HubSpot

Polished UI
Many features = learning curve
Requires training for full usage

Ease of Use Verdict

🏆 Winner: Brevo

8. Integrations & Ecosystem

HubSpot

Massive app marketplace
Native integrations
Best-in-class ecosystem

Brevo

Core integrations covered
Zapier support
Growing ecosystem

Integrations Verdict

🏆 Winner: HubSpot CRM

9. Compliance, GDPR & Data Privacy

Brevo is EU-based and GDPR-first by design.
HubSpot is GDPR-compliant but US-based.

For EU businesses, Brevo often feels safer.

Who Should Choose Brevo in 2025?

Choose Brevo if you:
✔ Are a growing small or mid-size business
✔ Need CRM + email + automation
✔ Want predictable pricing
✔ Care about ROI
✔ Don’t want enterprise complexity

Who Should Choose HubSpot CRM in 2025?

Choose HubSpot CRM if you:
✔ Have a dedicated sales team
✔ Need deep reporting
✔ Can afford scaling costs
✔ Want enterprise-level CRM
✔ Plan aggressive sales growth

Final Verdict: Brevo vs HubSpot CRM (2025)

After using both extensively:

🏆 Brevo is better for growing businesses focused on efficiency, automation, and cost control.
🏆 HubSpot CRM is better for companies ready for enterprise-level sales operations.

My Honest Recommendation

Most growing businesses start with Brevo and move to HubSpot only when complexity truly demands it — not before.

Common Questions:

1. Is Brevo better than HubSpot CRM for small and growing businesses?

Brevo is often a better choice for small and growing businesses because it offers CRM, email marketing, and automation at a much lower cost. HubSpot CRM is more powerful but becomes expensive as businesses scale and unlock advanced features.

2. Which CRM is more affordable in 2025: Brevo or HubSpot?

Brevo is significantly more affordable in 2025, especially for businesses with large contact lists. It charges mainly based on emails sent, while HubSpot’s pricing increases based on contacts, automation needs, and additional hubs.

3. Does Brevo offer marketing automation like HubSpot?

Yes. Brevo provides advanced marketing automation including behavior-based workflows, email and SMS automation, and CRM-triggered campaigns. HubSpot also offers powerful automation, but it is limited on lower plans and requires higher-priced tiers.

4. Which platform is better for sales teams: Brevo or HubSpot CRM?

HubSpot CRM is better for sales-driven teams that need advanced pipelines, forecasting, team performance tracking, and deep reporting. Brevo is better suited for small sales teams or service businesses that want a lightweight and easy-to-use CRM.

5. Can I migrate from HubSpot CRM to Brevo easily?

Yes. You can export contacts, deals, and basic CRM data from HubSpot and import them into Brevo using CSV files. While advanced custom objects may need manual setup, most growing businesses can migrate smoothly without losing critical data.