Alternatives

HubSpot alternatives for teams that need customers first.

HubSpot is a strong CRM and marketing suite with a free plan. But if your problem is starting enough conversations with the right buyers, these tools focus on that instead.

At a glance

The options, side by side.

Tool	Best for	Price
Distro	Founder-led B2B teams who want cold email, LinkedIn outreach and SEO content run from one plan.	Growth $49/mo, Scale $97/mo. 3 days free, no card.
Apollo.io	Sales teams that want a large prospect database and sequences in one per-seat platform.	Free plan; paid from $49/user/mo billed annually.
lemlist	Sales teams that want email, LinkedIn and other channels in one sequence.	Email $69/mo ($55 billed annually); Multichannel $109/mo.
Instantly	Teams and agencies sending high-volume cold email across many inboxes.	Growth $47/mo ($37.60 billed annually); leads priced separately.

In detail

What each one is good at.

1. Distro

Growth $49/mo, Scale $97/mo. 3 days free, no card.

Best for: Founder-led B2B teams who want cold email, LinkedIn outreach and SEO content run from one plan.

Strengths

Cold email from your own Gmail, written per person
LinkedIn outreach from buyer intent, in your own browser
SEO articles for Google and AI search, published on schedule
Approve everything, or autopilot on Scale

Watch out for

Not a CRM: keep deals in a spreadsheet or a free CRM
No built-in contact database; import a CSV or build lists from LinkedIn
One LinkedIn account per user

2. Apollo.io

Free plan; paid from $49/user/mo billed annually. Pricing

Best for: Sales teams that want a large prospect database and sequences in one per-seat platform.

Strengths

240M+ contacts and 30M+ accounts
Sequences, deliverability tools and a dialer on higher plans
Free plan to start

Watch out for

Per-seat, credit-based pricing
No SEO or content features

Distro vs Apollo.io →

3. lemlist

Email $69/mo ($55 billed annually); Multichannel $109/mo. Pricing

Best for: Sales teams that want email, LinkedIn and other channels in one sequence.

Strengths

Multichannel sequences including LinkedIn (Multichannel plan)
650M+ contact database and warmup included
Unified inbox across channels

Watch out for

LinkedIn steps need the higher plan
No SEO or content features

Distro vs lemlist →

4. Instantly

Growth $47/mo ($37.60 billed annually); leads priced separately. Pricing

Best for: Teams and agencies sending high-volume cold email across many inboxes.

Strengths

Unlimited sending accounts and warmup
Built-in CRM and AI agents
Low entry price for email

Watch out for

No LinkedIn outreach found on their site
Lead data is an extra product
No SEO or content features

Distro vs Instantly →

When to stay on HubSpot

If you already run marketing email, landing pages and your pipeline in HubSpot, keep it as your system of record. Add a tool that creates conversations, rather than replacing the CRM.

HubSpot: free CRM for up to 2 users; sequences need Sales Hub Professional (from $90/seat/mo billed annually, plus onboarding). Their pricing

Competitor details were checked on 1 October 2026 from their public websites. Features and pricing change, so check their sites for the latest. Read Distro vs HubSpot →

FAQ

Questions founders ask.

What is the best HubSpot alternative for a startup?

It depends on what you need first. If you need customers more than a CRM, Distro runs cold email, LinkedIn outreach and SEO content from one plan. If you need a contact database, Apollo.io is strong. For high-volume email, Instantly.

Is HubSpot free?

HubSpot offers a free CRM for up to 2 users. Sales sequences need Sales Hub Professional or Enterprise, which is priced per seat with an onboarding fee.

Do I still need a CRM?

Eventually, yes. Early on, many founders track deals in a spreadsheet or a free CRM and spend their budget on tools that create conversations.

Can I use Distro with HubSpot?

Yes. Distro starts the conversations and publishes the content; you can keep tracking deals wherever you already do.