HubSpot alternatives NetHunt CRM Scoring System
Every CRM in our HubSpot alternatives list is evaluated across 7 criteria. Each criterion is scored out of 10. The final score is a weighted average.
Score bands:
- 9–10 — Excellent
- 7–8 — Good
- 5–6 — Average
- 1–4 — Weak
1. Ease of use (weight: 15%)
How quickly a typical sales manager can start using the CRM productively — without training sessions or technical assistance.
| Score | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Fully intuitive, lives inside a tool the team already uses (e.g. Gmail). Zero entry barrier. | — |
| 9 | Productive from day one. Minimal setup required. No technical knowledge needed. | NetHunt CRM, Salesflare, folk CRM |
| 8 | Most features are self-explanatory. Takes 1–2 hours to get comfortable with the interface. | Freshsales, Monday CRM, Pipedrive |
| 7 | Core features are easy to pick up, but setting up automations or reports requires documentation or onboarding. | EngageBay, ActiveCampaign |
| 6 | Noticeable learning curve. Part of the team will need training. Interface feels cluttered or unintuitive. | Zoho CRM |
| 5 or below | Without a dedicated CRM admin or implementation partner, teams don't reach productivity for weeks. | Salesforce (5–6); SAP CRM (3) |
2. Pricing value (weight: 20%)
The ratio between price and the features you actually receive. Accounts for pricing transparency, absence of hidden upgrade triggers, and cost predictability as the team grows.
| Score | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Flat per-user pricing, all core features included from the first plan, no contact-based billing surprises. Free trial without a credit card. | — |
| 9–9.5 | Simple pricing model, no growth traps. Key features (automation, multiple pipelines) available on the standard plan. | NetHunt ($30 flat), EngageBay |
| 8–8.5 | Affordable starting price, but some useful features require an upgrade. Generally transparent model with no major surprises. | Salesflare, Freshsales, Zoho |
| 7–7.5 | Moderate price, but 1–2 features (reports, marketing, AI) require a more expensive plan. Predictable cost at scale. | Pipedrive, ActiveCampaign |
| 5–6 | Base plan is cheap, but genuinely useful functionality only unlocks from mid-tier. Hidden upgrade costs exist. | Monday CRM, Salesforce Starter |
| 3–4 | Price scales disproportionately with team or contact growth. Mandatory onboarding fees. Total cost significantly exceeds the advertised price. | HubSpot Marketing Hub Pro |
| 1–2 | Opaque model, frequent forced upgrades, contract lock-in, or scaling cost is outside SMB budgets. | SAP CRM, most enterprise-only solutions |
3. Automation (weight: 15%)
Depth of automation capabilities — from simple triggers to multi-step conditional sequences. Evaluated based on what's available on standard plans.
| Score | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 9.5–10 | Full visual builder with branching logic (if/then/else), multi-step sequences, triggers from any field or event. No workflow count limits. | ActiveCampaign, Salesforce Flow |
| 8.5–9 | Powerful automation with a wide range of triggers and actions. Most repetitive tasks can be automated without code. Some limits on lower plans. | NetHunt, Zoho Blueprint |
| 7.5–8 | Core workflows (lead assignment, reminders, stage changes) are available and functional. Complex scenarios require a higher plan or Zapier. | Freshsales, Pipedrive |
| 7 | Automation exists but is limited to a set of pre-built recipes. Custom conditions or multi-branch flows require an upgrade. | Monday CRM, Salesflare |
| 5–6 | Only simple triggers: reminders, basic email notifications. No conditional logic or multi-step sequences. | folk CRM, Agile CRM (basic) |
| 3–4 | Automation exists on paper only, or requires significant technical resources to configure. | — |
4. Customization (weight: 15%)
Flexibility to adapt pipelines, fields, roles, views, and data structure to a specific business process — on standard plans, without an enterprise tier.
| Score | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 9.5–10 | Unlimited pipelines, fields, views, and roles available from the base plan. Any sales process can be replicated without compromise. | NetHunt, Salesforce |
| 9 | Very high flexibility, custom modules and fields available. Minor limits on lower plans, not critical for most teams. | Zoho CRM |
| 8–8.5 | Custom fields and pipelines available on standard plans. Pipeline or role count is capped, but sufficient for most SMBs. | Monday CRM, ActiveCampaign |
| 7–7.5 | Basic customization available, but pipeline count or custom fields are limited without an upgrade. Complex permissions only on higher plans. | Freshsales, Pipedrive, folk |
| 6 | Template-based approach: field names and stages can be changed, but the CRM structure is rigidly defined. Doesn't flex to non-standard processes. | Salesflare, Agile CRM |
| 3–5 | Virtually no customization. The business must adapt to the system's logic, not the other way around. | — |
5. Integrations (weight: 10%)
Quality and breadth of native integrations with tools sales teams actually use: email, messengers, marketing platforms, telephony, ERP.
| Score | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 9.5–10 | 7,000+ integrations via a native marketplace. Native two-way sync with all major platforms. Unrestricted API access. | Salesforce AppExchange |
| 9 | Deep native integrations with key tools (Gmail, WhatsApp, messengers, Apollo). Zapier + own API. Two-way data sync. | NetHunt, Zoho |
| 8–8.5 | 350+ integrations via marketplace or Zapier. Native connections to Google Workspace, Slack, Zoom. Some integrations require configuration. | Pipedrive, ActiveCampaign, Salesflare |
| 7.5–8 | Core integrations available, but some require a third-party tool or Zapier. Sync quality is uneven. | Monday CRM, Freshsales, folk |
| 6–7 | Limited set of native integrations. Most connections only possible via Zapier or Make, which adds cost and failure points. | EngageBay, Agile CRM |
| 3–5 | Few native connections. API is absent or significantly restricted on base plans. | — |
6. Support quality (weight: 10%)
Real availability and quality of support on standard plans — not just enterprise. Response time, access to a real person, quality of self-serve documentation.
| Score | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 9.5–10 | Live support (chat or email) on all plans including the base tier. Response within a few hours. Migration and setup assistance included. | NetHunt CRM |
| 9 | Very high G2/Capterra support ratings. Fast response times, proactive assistance. No tiered access to support. | Salesflare, folk CRM |
| 8 | Good support on most plans. Knowledge base, webinars, community available. Response time up to 24 hours on standard plans. | Freshsales, ActiveCampaign, EngageBay, Monday |
| 7–7.5 | Support exists, but quality depends on plan. Base plans get email-only with slow response times, or self-serve only. | Pipedrive, Salesforce (lower plans) |
| 5–6 | Support is visibly tiered. Free and Starter plans receive slow or templated responses. Real assistance only from Pro and above. | Zoho CRM, Agile CRM |
| 3–4 | Support is effectively unavailable without a paid support package. Response to tickets can take several business days. | HubSpot Free/Starter |
7. HubSpot gap score (weight: 15%)
A unique criterion: how directly this CRM addresses the 4 specific problems that drive people away from HubSpot — opaque pricing, excessive complexity, limited flexibility on standard plans, and weak support on lower tiers.
| Score | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 9.5–10 | Solves all 4 HubSpot problems directly and completely: simple transparent pricing, zero learning curve, full customization from the base plan, consistent human support on all tiers. | NetHunt CRM (9.5) |
| 9 | Solves 3.5 out of 4 problems. May fall short in one dimension (e.g. automation is less deep), but is a strong alternative overall. | EngageBay (9.0) |
| 8–8.5 | Solves 3 out of 4 HubSpot problems. For example, significantly cheaper and simpler, but support is also tiered or customization is limited. | Salesflare (8.5), Zoho (8.0) |
| 7–7.5 | Solves 2 out of 4 problems — for example, only price and simplicity. But in other dimensions it replicates or even amplifies HubSpot's weaknesses. | Freshsales (7.5), ActiveCampaign (7.5), Pipedrive (7.5) |
| 5–6 | Addresses mainly one problem (e.g. only price), but is similar to or worse than HubSpot in other dimensions. Not a strong alternative in the broader sense. | Salesforce (6.0) |
| 3–4 | Solves none of HubSpot's core problems, or only partially — and only at additional cost. | Most enterprise-only CRMs |
Summary: how final scores are calculated
Each criterion score is multiplied by its weight, then all 7 weighted scores are summed to produce the overall rating out of 10.
| Criterion | Weight |
|---|---|
| Ease of use | 15% |
| Pricing value | 20% |
| Automation | 15% |
| Customization | 15% |
| Integrations | 10% |
| Support quality | 10% |
| HubSpot gap score | 15% |
| Total | 100% |
Example — NetHunt CRM:
| Criterion | Score | Weight | Weighted score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ease of use | 9.5 | 15% | 1.43 |
| Pricing value | 9.5 | 20% | 1.90 |
| Automation | 8.5 | 15% | 1.28 |
| Customization | 9.5 | 15% | 1.43 |
| Integrations | 9.0 | 10% | 0.90 |
| Support quality | 9.5 | 10% | 0.95 |
| HubSpot gap score | 9.5 | 15% | 1.43 |
| Overall | 9.31 → rounded to 9.4 | ||