If you’re running a B2B business and looking to scale, you’ll hit a wall pretty quick if your sales and marketing tools are scattered or clunky. The right go-to-market (GTM) software can make your life easier—or turn scaling into a slow-motion car crash. This guide unpacks how Hubspot stacks up against other top B2B GTM solutions, what really matters as you grow, and where the hype doesn’t match reality.
If you’re a founder, GTM lead, or just the unlucky soul who has to choose your company’s next platform, this is for you.
What “GTM Software” Actually Means (and Why It’s a Mess)
Let’s cut through the acronyms: “GTM” means how you take your product to market—finding leads, closing deals, and keeping customers happy. The problem is, GTM software now covers everything from email marketing and CRM to sales automation and reporting. Vendors slap “GTM” on just about any SaaS tool.
In reality, you probably need: - A CRM that tracks contacts, companies, and deals - Marketing automation (email, landing pages, lead scoring) - Sales tools (pipelines, calling, meeting scheduling) - Reporting and dashboards - Integrations with the rest of your stack (website, chat, billing, etc.)
Hubspot and its competitors promise to do all of this and more. But does any of them really nail it—especially for scaling B2B teams?
The Big Players: Who’s in the B2B GTM Game?
Before we dive into nuts and bolts, here are the most common all-in-one GTM contenders you’ll hear about:
- Hubspot (CRM, Marketing, Sales, Service)
- Salesforce (Sales Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Pardot)
- Pipedrive (CRM-focused, with add-ons)
- Outreach (Sales engagement, less marketing)
- Zoho CRM (Modular, budget-friendly)
- Freshsales (CRM + simple marketing)
- ActiveCampaign (Strong automation, weaker CRM)
You’ll also find “point solutions” that do one thing well—like Mailchimp for email or Gong for sales calls—but here we’re focusing on platforms that claim to be your GTM command center.
How Hubspot Stacks Up: The Honest Breakdown
Let’s get real: no platform is perfect. Here’s how Hubspot compares to other B2B GTM solutions—warts and all.
Where Hubspot Shines
- User Experience Is Actually Good: Hubspot’s interface is easy to learn. You won’t need weeks of training or a $200/hr consultant just to run a campaign.
- All-in-One for Most Things: CRM, email, landing pages, sales pipeline, chat, basic reporting—all under one roof. No duct tape required (until you really scale).
- Onboarding and Support: Their documentation and support are solid. You can get answers quickly, which matters when you’re growing fast.
- Integrations: Out-of-the-box integrations with most popular tools (Slack, Gmail, Zoom, etc.), and a marketplace for niche add-ons.
- Marketing Automation: Building email sequences, forms, and workflows is straightforward.
Where Hubspot Struggles
- Can Get Pricey, Fast: The starter plans look cheap, but the features you actually need (custom reporting, automation, multi-team support) are locked behind higher tiers. Costs can balloon as your database grows.
- Limited Customization: It’s great if you do things “the Hubspot way,” but if you want heavy custom logic or weird sales processes, you’ll hit walls.
- Some Features are Shallow: Reporting is fine for basics, but power users will bump into limits. Same goes for sales forecasting and lead scoring.
- API and Advanced Integration: Good, but not in Salesforce territory. If you have lots of in-house tools or need deep customization, expect workarounds.
Pro tip: If you’re a small team or scaling up from spreadsheets, Hubspot feels magical. If you’re already running complex GTM motions, you might outgrow it faster than you think.
Salesforce: The Behemoth (For Better or Worse)
Salesforce is the 800-pound gorilla. You can make it do anything, but you’ll pay for it—both in dollars and headaches.
- Ridiculously Customizable: You can bend Salesforce to your will. Complex sales processes, custom objects, multi-stage workflows—it’s built for this.
- Ecosystem: There’s an app for everything. If you want to bolt on AI, CPQ, or advanced analytics, it’s all there.
- Steep Learning Curve: You’ll need admins. You’ll need consultants. You’ll probably need therapy. The interface is clunky for non-technical folks.
- Expensive: The sticker price is just the beginning. Factor in implementation, support, and ongoing admin costs.
Who it’s for: Mature teams with complex GTM, or companies that have already invested in Salesforce and can’t/won’t leave.
Pipedrive, Zoho, Freshsales: Simpler, Cheaper, But Limited
If you’re looking for a CRM that’s less “enterprise” and more “get stuff done,” these tools are worth a look.
- Pipedrive: Simple sales-focused CRM. Great for pipeline, OK for basic marketing. Cheap, fast, but limited automation and reporting.
- Zoho CRM: Lots of features for the money, but the UI is dated and support can be hit or miss. Good for budget-conscious teams.
- Freshsales: Friendly interface, basic automation. Not as deep as Hubspot, but might be “enough” if you’re early stage.
What to watch for: These tools usually require more add-ons or manual work as you grow. At a certain point, you’ll feel the seams.
Outreach, ActiveCampaign, and the “Specialists”
If your team is sales-heavy (think SDRs, high-velocity outbound), Outreach is a favorite. It’s all about sales engagement—calls, emails, sequences, analytics. But you’ll need a separate marketing tool.
ActiveCampaign is a marketer’s dream for automation, but its CRM is lightweight. It’s best if email is your main channel and sales is simple.
The catch: If you try to stitch together too many “best of breed” tools, you’ll spend more time integrating than selling.
Honest Questions to Ask Before Choosing a GTM Platform
Don’t get blinded by feature checklists or vendor demos. Here’s what actually matters:
- What’s Your Real GTM Motion?
- Are you inbound-heavy, outbound, or both?
- Do you need deep marketing automation, or just a way to email leads?
- How complex is your sales process (multi-stage, multi-team, custom objects)?
- Who’s Actually Using the Tool?
- Is it just sales? Marketing? Both? Will customer success use it too?
- How tech-savvy is your team? (Be honest.)
- How Fast Are You Growing?
- Can your platform grow with you, or will you be migrating in a year?
- What happens when you double your contacts or team size?
- What’s Your Budget—Really?
- Not just licenses, but implementation, training, and support. The hidden costs add up.
- How Much Do You Value Simplicity?
- More features = more complexity. Sometimes “good enough and easy” beats “perfect but painful.”
What to Ignore: Hype, AI Promises, and Shiny Objects
Vendors love to talk about “AI-powered insights,” “next-gen reporting,” and how they’ll 10x your pipeline. Most of this is fluff—especially if you’re still wrangling spreadsheets or have a small team.
Here’s what not to get distracted by: - AI Forecasting: Usually just basic trend lines in a fancier wrapper. - “360-Degree Customer View”: Sounds nice, but if your data is a mess, it won’t magically fix it. - Endless Integrations: Most people use 5-10 integrations. Everything else is noise.
Pro tip: Focus on what will actually help your team close more deals or save real time.
The Bottom Line: Keep It Simple, Iterate As You Grow
Here’s the honest truth—there’s no perfect B2B GTM platform. Hubspot is a great starting point for most scaling teams because it strikes a balance between usability and power. But every platform has tradeoffs, and what’s “best” for you depends on your GTM motion, team, and appetite for complexity.
Don’t overthink it. Pick a tool that covers 80% of your needs, get your team using it, and improve as you go. Switching tools is painful, but so is getting bogged down in endless feature comparisons.
Start small, keep your process simple, and let your real-world needs—not vendor hype—guide what you do next.