Boetbook vs HubSpot
Boetbook vs HubSpot: the free tier question
HubSpot's free CRM is genuinely good. When does it make sense over Boetbook, and what does it cost once you outgrow the free plan?
· 4 min read · prices checked 12 September 2026
HubSpot is probably the most common CRM a small business tries first, because the free tier is real and the brand is everywhere. This comparison is mostly about what happens after the free tier.
The short version
Choose HubSpot if you get customers through content, email campaigns, landing pages, and forms on your website. HubSpot’s marketing tools are the best reason to use HubSpot, and the CRM comes along for free.
Choose Boetbook if your customers come from word of mouth, referrals, and repeat work, and what you actually need is to track jobs, send invoices, and remember who to follow up with. Marketing automation would sit unused.
Pricing side by side
| HubSpot | Boetbook | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes. Up to 2 users, 1,000 contacts, no expiry. | Yes. 2 seats, 100 clients, 5 invoices a month, no expiry. |
| Entry paid plan | Starter, listed at $20 per seat per month, with introductory discounts for new customers | Professional, R299 per month for the whole business |
| How it scales | Per seat, and marketing contacts are tiered on top | 25 seats included on Professional, 100 on Max |
| Next tier | Professional hubs, priced per hub and per seat, typically hundreds of dollars a month | Max, R799 per month |
| Currency | USD | Rand |
Note on HubSpot pricing: HubSpot sells separate “hubs” (Marketing, Sales, Service, Content) and each has its own Starter, Professional, and Enterprise tier. The $20 per seat figure is the Starter tier. Once you want Professional-tier features, the jump is steep, and HubSpot’s marketing plans also charge by the number of contacts you email. Check HubSpot’s pricing page for the exact combination you need, because it changes with how many hubs you combine.
Where HubSpot wins
- The free CRM is generous. Contacts, companies, deals, tasks, email tracking, live chat, forms, a basic pipeline. For a two-person business that only needs a contact list and a pipeline, HubSpot Free may be all you ever need.
- Marketing is built in. Email campaigns, landing pages, forms, ad tracking, and lead scoring live in the same product as the CRM. Boetbook has none of this and is not going to build it.
- Integrations. HubSpot’s app marketplace is large and well maintained. Xero, QuickBooks, Mailchimp, Slack, Zoom, WhatsApp via partners. Boetbook has no third-party integrations yet.
- Reporting. Custom dashboards and attribution reporting on paid tiers. Boetbook’s reporting is a dashboard, not a report builder.
- Content and SEO tools. If you write a blog to win customers, HubSpot’s Content Hub is a real advantage.
Where Boetbook wins
- Jobs, not just deals. HubSpot models a sale. Boetbook models a job: it has a location, a scheduled time, a technician, a photo from the site, stock used, and an invoice at the end. If you are a trade or a service business, that shape matters more than pipeline stages.
- Invoicing and inventory are standard. Quotes, invoices with PDF export, payment tracking, stock items, suppliers, and purchase invoices are in every Boetbook plan. HubSpot’s quotes and payments exist on Sales Hub, but inventory does not.
- Flat pricing. Ten people on Boetbook Professional cost R299 a month. Ten seats on HubSpot Starter cost ten times the per-seat price, and marketing contacts are billed on top.
- No sales pressure to upgrade. HubSpot’s free tier is designed to lead you to paid hubs, and the product reminds you often. Boetbook’s Free plan is a plan, not a funnel.
- Simpler by design. No hub to choose, no seat types to understand, no contact tiers.
Things Boetbook does not do
- No email marketing or newsletters. If you send a monthly mailer, keep using your current tool for it.
- No forms, landing pages, or website chat.
- No integrations yet. Accounting sync and WhatsApp are on the roadmap.
- Custom fields are limited on purpose.
- Reporting is a fixed dashboard plus Recommended Actions, not a report builder.
Who should pick which
If your growth engine is inbound marketing, pick HubSpot, and consider paying for Marketing Hub before Sales Hub. A small agency that lives off newsletters and landing pages will be well served.
If your growth engine is doing good work and being easy to deal with, and the CRM’s job is to keep the operational side tidy, Boetbook is the better shape. A plumber does not need lead scoring. A coach with recurring sessions needs gentle reminders and an invoice at the end of the month.
The bottom line
HubSpot is a marketing platform with a CRM attached. Boetbook is a work-tracking tool with a CRM attached. Both free tiers are worth trying. Sign up for both on a quiet afternoon, add three real clients to each, and notice which one you reach for the next day.
Try Boetbook free. Two seats, no card, no clock.
The Free plan doesn't expire. If it turns out HubSpot is the better fit, nothing is lost but ten minutes.