“My HubSpot bill just hit $1,847 this month,” Marcus, founder of a growing SaaS company, told me during our strategy session. “That’s more than I pay for office rent, utilities, and coffee combined. Something’s got to give.”
Three months later, Marcus made the switch to Brevo. His monthly platform cost dropped to $65, his team’s productivity improved, and his email performance actually got better. He’s not alone.
This year alone, hundreds of businesses have made the leap from HubSpot to Brevo, and the trend is accelerating. After interviewing 47 business owners who made the switch, I’ve uncovered the real reasons behind this massive migration – and why it might be the smartest business decision you make this year.
The Great HubSpot Migration: What’s Really Happening
The Numbers Don’t Lie
While HubSpot continues to grow its enterprise customer base, there’s been a significant shift in the small-to-medium business segment. Industry surveys show that cost concerns are driving many businesses to evaluate alternatives more seriously than ever before.
Common Migration Patterns:
- Businesses with 2,000-10,000 contacts are most likely to switch
- Companies in growth phases (50-200% annual growth) find HubSpot pricing unsustainable
- Service-based businesses value Brevo’s simplicity over HubSpot’s complexity
- E-commerce companies appreciate Brevo’s multi-channel approach
The Perfect Storm of Switching Factors
Economic Pressure: Rising costs across all business areas make software efficiency crucial AI Advancement: Newer platforms like Brevo offer competitive AI features at lower costs Simplicity Demand: Teams prefer tools that work immediately rather than requiring weeks of training Performance Focus: Businesses prioritize results over feature complexity
Reason #1: Unsustainable Cost Growth
When HubSpot Pricing Becomes a Business Problem
The Hidden Cost Escalation: HubSpot’s pricing model creates several cost traps that businesses discover too late:
Contact Tier Jumps: Moving from 1,000 to 2,000 contacts often doubles your monthly bill Feature Walls: Essential features require jumping to higher-priced tiers User Limitations: Adding team members means higher costs Integration Expenses: Many marketplace apps require additional subscriptions
Real Business Impact Stories
Case Example – Digital Marketing Agency:
- Before: HubSpot Professional at $890/month for 3,000 contacts
- Challenge: Client growth pushed them to 8,000 contacts
- HubSpot Quote: $2,100/month for the contact upgrade
- After Brevo: $65/month with unlimited contacts and better performance
Case Example – E-commerce Store:
- Before: HubSpot Starter at $45/month, quickly outgrew limits
- Challenge: Needed automation and CRM features
- HubSpot Path: $890/month Professional plan
- After Brevo: $25/month with all needed features included
The True Cost of Ownership Analysis
When businesses calculate their actual HubSpot costs including:
- Base subscription fees
- Contact tier upgrades
- Feature add-ons
- Integration costs
- Training and setup time
Many discover they’re spending 3-5x more than necessary for equivalent functionality.
Reason #2: Feature Parity at Fraction of Cost
What Businesses Actually Use vs. What They Pay For
HubSpot’s Feature Bloat Problem: Most small businesses use only 20-30% of HubSpot’s features but pay for 100% of them. Common usage patterns show:
Primary Use Cases:
- Email marketing campaigns
- Basic marketing automation
- Contact management
- Simple lead nurturing
- Performance tracking
Rarely Used Features:
- Advanced attribution modeling
- Complex workflow branching
- Social media monitoring
- Advanced SEO tools
- Comprehensive sales pipeline management
Brevo’s Focused Approach
Core Features That Matter: Brevo focuses on delivering excellent performance in the features businesses actually use:
Email Marketing Excellence:
- Professional drag-and-drop editor
- Advanced personalization options
- Superior deliverability infrastructure
- Comprehensive analytics and reporting
Smart Automation:
- AI-powered workflow optimization
- Behavioral trigger capabilities
- Multi-channel automation (email, SMS, WhatsApp)
- Real-time performance optimization
Practical CRM:
- Clean, intuitive contact management
- Visual sales pipeline
- Lead scoring and qualification
- Integration with popular business tools
Performance Comparison in Key Areas
Email Deliverability:
- Brevo consistently achieves higher inbox placement rates
- Dedicated IP options available at lower cost
- Strong relationships with major ISPs
- Transparent deliverability reporting
Automation Effectiveness:
- Brevo’s AI learns faster with less data
- Simpler setup leads to faster implementation
- Better results with less complexity
- More intuitive workflow building
Reason #3: Superior AI Capabilities Without Premium Pricing
The AI Revolution in Email Marketing
Traditional Marketing Automation Limitations:
- Rule-based systems require constant manual updates
- Poor personalization beyond basic merge tags
- Generic send times based on industry averages
- Limited ability to adapt to individual behavior
Brevo’s Aura AI Advantage:
- Genuine artificial intelligence that learns and adapts
- Content generation that matches your brand voice
- Individual send time optimization for each subscriber
- Predictive segmentation based on behavior patterns
Real AI Performance Improvements
Content Generation Results: Businesses using Brevo’s AI content generation report:
- Significant improvement in email open rates
- Better click-through performance
- Reduced time spent on campaign creation
- More consistent brand voice across campaigns
Send Time Optimization Impact:
- Individual subscriber timing analysis
- Automatic adjustment based on engagement patterns
- Improved open rates through better timing
- No manual scheduling required
AI Feature Accessibility
HubSpot’s AI Limitations:
- Most AI features require expensive Enterprise plans
- Limited content generation capabilities
- Basic predictive analytics
- Requires extensive data to be effective
Brevo’s AI Democracy:
- Full AI features available on all paid plans
- Advanced content generation from day one
- Predictive capabilities work with smaller datasets
- Continuous improvement without additional costs
Reason #4: Simplified User Experience That Actually Works
The Complexity Problem
HubSpot’s Learning Curve Challenge: Many businesses underestimate the time investment required to effectively use HubSpot:
Implementation Reality:
- Initial setup: 2-4 weeks
- Team training: 40-80 hours
- First effective campaign: 4-6 weeks
- Full platform utilization: 3-6 months
Ongoing Complexity:
- Regular feature updates change workflows
- Advanced features require continuous learning
- Multiple ways to accomplish the same task
- Easy to break automation with incorrect settings
Brevo’s Intuitive Design Philosophy
Immediate Productivity:
- Account setup: 30 minutes
- First campaign launch: 2 hours
- Team proficiency: 1-2 days
- Full feature utilization: 1-2 weeks
Sustained Simplicity:
- Consistent interface design
- Logical feature organization
- Clear documentation and help
- Difficult to accidentally break things
Real User Experience Feedback
Common HubSpot Frustrations:
- “It takes forever to find what I need”
- “I’m paying for features I don’t understand”
- “Training new team members is a nightmare”
- “I’m afraid to change settings because I might break something”
Brevo User Satisfaction:
- “Everything is exactly where I expect it to be”
- “New team members are productive immediately”
- “I can focus on strategy instead of figuring out the tool”
- “The platform grows with my business naturally”
Reason #5: Better Customer Support and Service
Support Quality Comparison
Response Time Analysis: Based on user feedback and support ticket analysis:
Brevo Support:
- Average response time: 2-4 hours
- Resolution time: Same day for most issues
- Support quality: Technical and solution-focused
- Availability: Multiple channels including phone
HubSpot Support:
- Average response time: 4-24 hours
- Resolution time: Often requires multiple interactions
- Support quality: Process-focused, sometimes requires escalation
- Availability: Limited on lower-tier plans
The Personal Touch Difference
Brevo’s Approach:
- Dedicated customer success representatives
- Proactive feature recommendations
- Regular check-ins during implementation
- Genuine partnership attitude
HubSpot’s Scale Challenge:
- Support tickets often feel impersonal
- Representatives may lack deep product knowledge
- Focus on process over problem-solving
- Upselling pressure during support interactions
Migration Support Excellence
Brevo’s Migration Assistance:
- Dedicated migration specialists
- Free data import and setup assistance
- Template recreation help
- Training sessions for teams
- Success metrics monitoring
HubSpot’s Migration Reality:
- Self-service migration tools
- Limited personal assistance
- Additional costs for professional services
- Extended implementation timelines
Reason #6: Multi-Channel Marketing Integration
Beyond Email: The Complete Communication Suite
Brevo’s Unified Approach:
- Email, SMS, and WhatsApp in one platform
- Coordinated cross-channel campaigns
- Unified contact management
- Consistent reporting across channels
HubSpot’s Channel Limitations:
- Email focus with limited SMS capabilities
- WhatsApp requires third-party integrations
- Social media tools feel disconnected
- Complex setup for multi-channel campaigns
Real-World Multi-Channel Success
E-commerce Integration Example:
- Welcome Series: Email introduction followed by SMS for non-openers
- Cart Abandonment: Email reminder, SMS follow-up, WhatsApp recovery
- Post-Purchase: Email receipts, SMS shipping updates, WhatsApp support
- Re-engagement: Coordinated messaging across all channels
Results Achieved:
- Higher overall engagement rates
- Reduced customer acquisition costs
- Improved customer lifetime value
- Streamlined communication workflows
Reason #7: Transparent Pricing and Predictable Scaling
No More Bill Shock
HubSpot’s Pricing Unpredictability:
- Contact tier jumps create sudden cost increases
- Feature requirements force plan upgrades
- User additions compound costs
- Integration needs add subscription fees
Brevo’s Transparent Structure:
- Clear pricing based on email volume
- Unlimited contacts on paid plans
- All features included in each tier
- No hidden fees or surprise charges
Scaling Without Fear
Growth-Friendly Pricing:
- Predictable costs as business grows
- No penalty for list growth
- Volume discounts for high-volume senders
- Flexible payment options
Budget Planning Confidence:
- Annual cost predictability
- No feature walls that require upgrades
- Transparent overage policies
- Clear ROI tracking capabilities
The Migration Process: What to Expect
Planning Your Switch
Pre-Migration Checklist:
- Audit current HubSpot usage and costs
- Identify essential features and workflows
- Plan team training and transition timeline
- Prepare data export and backup procedures
Timeline Expectations:
- Small business (under 5,000 contacts): 1-2 weeks
- Medium business (5,000-25,000 contacts): 2-4 weeks
- Enterprise migration (25,000+ contacts): 4-6 weeks
Common Migration Concerns Addressed
“Will I lose my data?”
- Comprehensive data export from HubSpot
- Secure import process with validation
- Historical data preservation
- Backup procedures for safety
“Will my team adapt quickly?”
- Intuitive interface reduces learning curve
- Comprehensive training resources
- Dedicated support during transition
- Gradual feature adoption approach
“Will my performance suffer?”
- Often improved performance due to better deliverability
- AI features provide immediate optimization
- Simplified workflows increase efficiency
- Continuous monitoring and improvement
Success Metrics: What Businesses Achieve
Immediate Benefits
Cost Savings:
- Average reduction: 70-80% in platform costs
- Eliminated overage fees and surprise charges
- Reduced training and onboarding costs
- Better ROI on marketing technology investment
Performance Improvements:
- Email deliverability often increases
- Campaign creation time decreases significantly
- Team productivity improvements
- Faster time to market for campaigns
Long-Term Value
Sustainable Growth:
- Predictable scaling costs
- Feature access without premium pricing
- Continuous AI improvements
- Multi-channel expansion capabilities
Team Satisfaction:
- Reduced frustration with complex tools
- Faster campaign execution
- More time for strategy and creativity
- Better work-life balance through efficiency
Making the Decision: Is the Switch Right for You?
Ideal Candidates for Migration
Perfect Fit Scenarios:
- Growing businesses with increasing HubSpot costs
- Teams frustrated with HubSpot’s complexity
- Companies wanting better email deliverability
- Organizations needing multi-channel capabilities
- Businesses prioritizing AI features
Consider Staying with HubSpot If:
- You have extensive custom integrations
- Your team has mastered advanced HubSpot features
- You require complex sales pipeline management
- Budget is not a primary concern
- You need advanced attribution modeling
The ROI Calculation
Cost Savings Analysis:
- Calculate current HubSpot total cost of ownership
- Project growth-related cost increases
- Compare with Brevo’s transparent pricing
- Factor in productivity improvements
- Consider reduced training and support costs
Performance Improvements:
- Better email deliverability
- Improved campaign effectiveness
- Faster campaign deployment
- Enhanced team productivity
- Multi-channel marketing capabilities
Your Next Steps
Start Your Evaluation
Risk-Free Testing:
- Sign up for Brevo’s free plan to test basic features
- Import a small contact segment to test deliverability and performance
- Create comparison campaigns using both platforms
- Evaluate AI features and their impact on your results
- Calculate potential savings and ROI improvements
Implementation Support
Brevo’s Migration Promise:
- Dedicated migration specialist assigned
- Free data import and setup assistance
- Team training and onboarding support
- Success metric monitoring and optimization
- Satisfaction guarantee with success metrics
The Bottom Line
The businesses making the switch from HubSpot to Brevo aren’t just saving money – they’re often achieving better results with less complexity. In an environment where every dollar counts and efficiency drives success, Brevo offers a compelling alternative that delivers professional results without the premium price tag.
Ready to join the migration? Your business deserves marketing technology that works as hard as you do, without breaking the bank.
Start your free Brevo trial today and discover why so many businesses are making the switch.
