Short answer
HubSpot is the easiest CRM to adopt, with a free tier and strong marketing tools, ideal for small and mid-sized teams. Salesforce is the most powerful and customisable, suited to large, complex sales organisations with admin support. A custom CRM fits unusual workflows, such as real estate, solar or lending pipelines, and avoids per-seat fees as teams grow.
Updated · Written by the Infikey Technologies delivery team
Choose HubSpot if…
You want fast adoption, marketing and sales in one place, and a team that can run the CRM without a dedicated admin.
Choose Salesforce if…
You run a large or complex sales organisation, need deep reporting and territory rules, and can fund admins or a partner.
Choose Custom CRM if…
Your pipeline is industry-specific, field teams need a mobile app, you need tight integration with your own systems, or seat costs are getting out of hand.
Comparison
| Factor | HubSpot | Salesforce | Custom CRM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free tier, then per-seat plans | Per-seat plans, add-ons for advanced features | Build cost plus hosting and support |
| Ease of use | Very easy | Powerful, steeper learning curve | Designed around your team |
| Customisation | Good within the product | Extensive, with admins or developers | Unlimited |
| Industry fit | General | General, with industry clouds | Built for your pipeline |
| Integrations | Large marketplace | Largest ecosystem | Built exactly for your systems |
| Mobile and field use | Good apps | Good apps | Offline-ready apps built for field teams |
| Data ownership | Vendor-hosted | Vendor-hosted | Your servers, your data |
Cost
| Option | Budget (USD) |
|---|---|
| HubSpot or Salesforce setup and data migration by a partner | 3,000–20,000 plus subscriptions |
| Custom CRM for one team and pipeline | 15,000–35,000 |
| Custom CRM with mobile app, automation and integrations | 35,000–60,000 |
These are planning ranges, not quotes. Compare subscription costs over several years with a build using the build vs buy calculator.
Industry CRMs we see most
- Real estate CRM for developers and brokers.
- Solar EPC CRM for site surveys and installation tracking.
- Insurance agency software for policies, renewals and commissions.
- Loan management software for lending pipelines.