The HubSpot stack: what companies run alongside HubSpot

About half of the companies using HubSpot in these interviews also name Salesforce CRM — about twice the rate at companies of similar size that do not use HubSpot. LinkedIn Ads, data-enrichment tools and sales-engagement platforms appear roughly six to eight times as often, and a content, SEO and website layer about twice as often. Some buyers run HubSpot as their whole marketing and sales platform; others use it for one job, such as B2B leads beside a consumer email platform. Buyers describe the HubSpot–Salesforce sync both as straightforward and as a source of duplicate records, difficult lead handoffs and ongoing integration work.

What tools do HubSpot companies commonly run together?

In these interviews, companies using HubSpot frequently pair it with Salesforce CRM; with data-enrichment and prospecting tools such as ZoomInfo, Apollo or Clay; with sales tools such as Gong; with LinkedIn and Google advertising; and with a content, SEO and website layer such as WordPress, Semrush, Webflow or Canva. Some also run a consumer email platform such as Klaviyo, Braze or Iterable beside HubSpot. The exact combination varies, and buyers report both straightforward connections and integration work through Zapier or custom builds.

How well does HubSpot sync with Salesforce?

Buyers split. In a recurring arrangement, HubSpot runs marketing and communication while Salesforce stays the system of record. Some describe the connection as easy — “We convert all of our Salesforce leads into HubSpot, and it had a really easy direct connect,” one says. Others describe specific problems: one buyer finds that “if you have the integration up with Salesforce, you cannot deduplicate HubSpot company records, even if Salesforce account records get duped,” and another says handing leads over is where it strains — “the syncing then to get it to the sales team as a sales qualified lead is kind of where it becomes a little trickier.”

Moves run both ways. Some companies have moved their CRM or marketing operations from Salesforce products to HubSpot, citing cost or simplicity — “you can spend a lot less and get a lot more if you switch to HubSpot,” one says. Others are considering Salesforce Marketing Cloud for marketing automation because they already use Salesforce CRM and want to reduce the integrations they maintain: “Marketing Cloud makes more sense than having HubSpot and having to set up integrations between the two platforms.” See HubSpot vs. Salesforce Marketing Cloud.

Which data and sales tools connect to HubSpot?

Data-enrichment and prospecting tools appear about eight times as often at HubSpot companies as at size-matched companies, but their roles differ. ZoomInfo is described as syncing data into HubSpot, Clay as a potential feed, and Apollo as a tool whose outbound-email function one company moved into HubSpot. Of ZoomInfo, one says it offers “the native integration with Salesforce and HubSpot, so we can easily sync the data,” while another finds the sync creates clean-up work: “for every contact that's generated, it generates a new company, so sometimes I have to de-dupe hundreds of companies.” Some are adding Clay — “the Clay tool that I talked about that would feed into HubSpot.” For outbound, one company moved off a separate tool: “hey, we tried this with Apollo, it's not working. Let's send our seller outbound emails through HubSpot.”

Do HubSpot companies run another email platform?

About half of HubSpot companies also name another email or marketing platform, somewhat fewer than in the size-matched comparison group. Among the buyers who explain how the platforms coexist, several divide responsibilities by audience, using HubSpot for B2B or sales and another platform for consumer marketing. “We still retain Klaviyo for B2C email marketing and SMS, but HubSpot serves as the CRM for our sales team,” one consumer brand says; another describes the same split as “we use HubSpot for our B2B CRM. We use Brevo for our B2C CRM.” The two sides are not always connected: “But HubSpot doesn't speak to Iterable, so it's like they're disconnected.”

Does HubSpot replace the website and content tools?

For some. WordPress, Semrush and Canva are each two and a half to three times as common at HubSpot companies, and buyers describe WordPress feeding HubSpot — “There's a native tool within HubSpot we use that's an integration into the WordPress page.” Others have moved the website onto HubSpot itself: “Another platform we deprecated was WordPress. We had multiple content management systems. Now we have everything on HubSpot.” Advertising runs through it for some too — one firm describes “leveraging lead generation through tools like LinkedIn, Google Ads, all of our e-marketing work through HubSpot.”

The HubSpot stack, layer by layer

How often HubSpot companies name a tool in each layer, against size-matched companies, which tools they name, and how buyers describe the connection to HubSpot. How often tools appear together is separate from how well they connect, which is what the last column reports.

When do companies use HubSpot for everything versus one job?

Some buyers describe HubSpot as accessible enough to manage marketing, CRM and related operations without extensive developer support, while others prefer to limit its role because of concerns about advanced functionality, pricing tiers, integration work or dependence on one platform. “HubSpot is a very marketing-friendly, self-serve CRM solution, which means that you don't need a lot of coders or developers,” one says, and some consolidate onto it: “So no one is choosing to use one platform over another. They're all in on HubSpot.” Others point to limits. One finds it “a good tool for SMBs, but I think it lacks sophistication as your email marketing programs transform,” and another sees concentration itself as the risk: “I would say the HubSpot single solution is probably its own weakness.” Cost and integration work add up for some — “sometimes for additional features, they make you go to a higher tier plan,” and where tools lack a direct link, “Zapier is what we use to make the connection between them.” One company brings in outside help: “We then typically loop in a third-party consultant who's an expert at HubSpot to manage all of that. So it becomes quite expensive.” See HubSpot alternatives.

The stories behind the stack

What this means for your stack

A recurring configuration in these interviews pairs HubSpot for marketing with Salesforce as the CRM, alongside enrichment, LinkedIn advertising and a content layer; other companies run HubSpot as their whole platform, or for B2B beside a consumer email tool. Several buyers describe the HubSpot–Salesforce sync as easy while others report duplicates, difficult lead handoffs and connector upkeep. Our recommendation, not a practice buyers describe: if you will run both, decide which system owns companies, contacts and lead status before connecting them, and test deduplication and lead handoff on your own records; and if HubSpot will sit beside a consumer email platform, decide which audiences each owns and whether the two need to share data at all.

What this page does not show

It shows which tools HubSpot companies run, not which ones they should. How often tools appear together says nothing about satisfaction, and a tool appearing beside HubSpot does not mean the two are connected. HubSpot companies are compared with companies of similar size, but they still differ in industry and in how much of their business is B2B, so part of the difference is the kind of company rather than the choice of HubSpot. And sync experiences depend on how each company has set up its records, so a problem one buyer reports may not apply to another.

Common questions