--- published: true layout: post title: 'HubSpot vs Salesforce: What Each Costs And What Its APIs Let You Build' image: https://kinlane-images.s3.amazonaws.com/apievangelist/api-evangelist-images/hubspot-vs-salesforce-what-each-costs-and-what-its-apis-let-you-build.png date: 2026-11-07 15:00:00 +0000 author: Kin Lane tags: - Comparisons - HubSpot - Salesforce - CRM --- If you are choosing a CRM, the system that holds your customers, deals and support history, the shortlist almost always comes down to HubSpot and Salesforce. Most comparisons stop at features and seat prices. I want to add the part that decides how well either one fits the rest of your business: what you can build against it. Both are software you use in a browser, and both are platforms that other software, scripts and AI assistants can work with through an API. I track both on APIs.io, [HubSpot here](https://apis.io/providers/hubspot/) and [Salesforce here](https://apis.io/providers/salesforce/), and this is how they compare. ## What each one is for HubSpot describes itself as an AI-native customer platform built around its Smart CRM, with marketing, sales, customer service, content, commerce and operations sharing one customer record. Its roots are in marketing, and it is built so a small team can run everything from one place. Salesforce describes itself as a cloud CRM platform with enterprise applications for sales, service, marketing, commerce, analytics and AI. It is as much a platform for building business applications as it is a CRM, with its own programming language (Apex), its own app marketplace (AppExchange) and separate sandbox environments for testing changes. ## What it costs Both publish their prices, and both charge per user per month. **HubSpot**, [read from hubspot.com/pricing on October 12, 2026](https://apis.io/providers/hubspot/#pricing): - Free: €0 - Starter: €7 per seat per month - Professional: €90 per seat per month - Enterprise: €175 per seat per month **Salesforce**, [read from salesforce.com/sales/pricing on October 12, 2026](https://apis.io/providers/salesforce/#pricing): - Free Suite: $0 - Starter Suite: $25 per user per month - Pro Suite: $100 per user per month, billed annually - Core: $195 per user per month, billed annually - Advanced: $395 per user per month, billed annually - Max: $550 per user per month, billed annually One caution: the HubSpot figures came from its European pricing page, in euros, and the Salesforce figures are in US dollars, so compare them in your own currency on each vendor's page. Both start with a free tier, so you can test either API without paying. At the top end, Salesforce's most expensive edition costs about three times HubSpot's on a per-seat basis. ## The APIs This is where they differ most. **HubSpot** exposes one REST API at api.hubapi.com, split into many focused areas. APIs.io tracks 81 of them, from the core CRM ([imports](https://apis.io/apis/hubspot/hubspot-crm-imports-api/), custom objects, pipelines, quotes) to [webhooks](https://apis.io/apis/hubspot/hubspot-webhooks-api/) and [workflows](https://apis.io/apis/hubspot/hubspot-workflows-api/). **Salesforce** has more API styles, because it is more of a platform. Alongside the main [REST API](https://apis.io/apis/salesforce/salesforce-rest-api/) there are SOAP, Bulk, Metadata and Tooling APIs, a [GraphQL API](https://apis.io/apis/salesforce/salesforce-graphql-api/), and event APIs ([Pub/Sub](https://apis.io/apis/salesforce/salesforce-pub-sub-api/) and [Change Data Capture](https://apis.io/apis/salesforce/salesforce-change-data-capture-api/)) that push changes to you as they happen. APIs.io tracks 185 Salesforce API pages and 156 specification files, against 46 for HubSpot. If you need to move large volumes of data or react to changes in real time, Salesforce gives you more ways to do it. Both limit how hard you can call them, and both [publish](https://apis.io/rate-limits/hubspot/hubspot-rate-limits/) [their limits](https://apis.io/rate-limits/salesforce/salesforce-rate-limits/). HubSpot sets a daily allowance per account by plan for private apps (250,000 requests on Free and Starter, 625,000 on Professional) plus short-burst limits, and apps installed from its marketplace get 110 requests every 10 seconds per account. Salesforce starts from 100,000 requests a day and adds more per licence you buy, so the allowance grows with your contract. ## Where each one is stronger Both score in the top band of the [Kin Score](https://apis.io/rating/), my rating of how well a provider documents and supports its APIs: HubSpot 94.8, Salesforce 92.1. Neither is a weak choice. The differences are in the details: - HubSpot leads on [discoverability](https://apis.io/rating/facets/discoverability/) (83.3 to 76.7) and [operational transparency](https://apis.io/rating/facets/operational-transparency/) (94.7 to 86.8): it is easier to find what exists and to see how the service is running. - Salesforce leads on [contract quality](https://apis.io/rating/facets/contract-quality/) (72.9 to 63.9): its machine-readable API descriptions are more complete, which matters when you generate code or hand them to an AI agent. For AI agents, HubSpot runs a verified MCP server, the standard way to give an assistant tools, and Salesforce supports dynamic client registration, which lets an agent register itself for OAuth access without a human setting it up. ## Which one to pick - If you are a small or mid-sized team that wants marketing, sales and service in one place without building much, HubSpot will cost less and the API will be easier to work with. - If you need custom business applications, real-time event streams, or very large data movements, or you already have Salesforce developers, Salesforce gives you more room, and you will pay for it. - If AI agents will be working inside your CRM, both are ahead of most of the market. HubSpot's verified MCP server gets you there faster today. Whichever you choose, check the [HubSpot](https://apis.io/providers/hubspot/#pricing) and [Salesforce](https://apis.io/providers/salesforce/#pricing) pricing sections before you sign, because both vendors change their editions often.