• HubSpot for Nonprofits is extremely intuitive and easy to use, even for beginners. The platform includes a variety of drag-and-drop features that make it simple to create and manage content, build your email list, and get the right people in the door of your organization. With HubSpot, you’re not casting a wide net, hoping to reel in a random set of donors; you’re getting access to a precision set of tools for segmenting lists, targeting high-level prospects, and personalized donor outreach through relevant content offers.

• HubSpot's drag-and-drop builder makes it easy to create landing pages, blog posts, social media posts, and more. The software also includes analytics so you can track how people are engaging with your content to see what's working best.

• HubSpot integrates seamlessly with other tools like MailChimp and Google Analytics (and 1,000+ more).

• On top of the above, an extensive library of free educational resources is available for anyone who needs help. For Pro & Enterprise Hubs, phone/email/chat support is free. Salesforce charges for support.

💡How long will it take to learn HubSpot?

• Learning the basics of HubSpot—including more sophisticated certification courses—can take anywhere from a few hours to 30 days. It can be used by anyone on your team because a complicated tech or coding background isn’t required to get started with the software.

• Salesforce is primarily designed as enterprise-level software, and it's meant to be used by large companies. It allows these big orgs to manage a huge number of contacts, leads, and opportunities. Navigating all of these elements to get the most value out of it can be challenging.

• Salesforce was built by developers for developers. Developers tend to think differently than other professionals like marketing managers or sales reps—they're more technical and love building products from the ground up rather than using existing tools and software solutions. HubSpot was designed to solve this problem by providing easy integrations and customizations that can be done by anyone in your organization.

• If you're new to Salesforce and don't have any technical knowledge or experience with programming languages like SQL or JavaScript, then this can be difficult at first when trying to get started with the platform. You'll need some time to get familiar with its design patterns, terminology, and structure before being able to confidently use it as part of your duties.

💡How long will it take to learn Salesforce?

• With the right background, training courses, and dedication, it will take up to 3-6 months (sometimes more, depending on the complexity of your needs) to fully immerse and gain sufficient Salesforce skills.

HubSpot Hubs offer an all-in-one CRM powerhouse for any nonprofit through its full product suite:

• The Marketing Hub is an all-in-one marketing software that helps you create new leads, nurture them over time, convert them into customers, and retain them by delivering the content they need at every stage of their journey.

✔️Nonprofits can accomplish tracking leads and measuring results in the Marketing Hub without having to purchase multiple software packages.

• The Sales Hub allows nonprofits to have a single place where they can track their leads and prospects.

✔️Nonprofits can use the Sales Hub to avoid duplicating efforts by having multiple people working on the same lead. It also makes it easy to see who has been contacted by whom and when so that you’ll know which stage your prospect is at in the donor journey.

• The CMS Hub is an innovative, incredibly user-friendly tool for building websites that makes it easy for nonprofits to create beautiful, modern websites without having to know code.

✔️Nonprofits can use the CMS Hub to quickly and easily create a website, manage content, and engage with their supporters in an intuitive way.

Each HubSpot Hub can be used as a standalone solution depending on your needs, but they are designed to work well with each other to form a full, sales, CMS, and marketing ecosystem.

💡One challenge with Hubspot is that it doesn’t offer out-of-the-box nonprofit features. But it is so customizable that it works for almost any NPO. That aside, HubSpot connects with over 1,000 apps and software, including Fundraise Up and Eventbrite—both valuable nonprofit tools.

Here's one example of a feature you won't find in HubSpot:

If you want to accept donations through the platform, you'll need to use PayPal's Donate button or another third-party option.

However, Hubspot Payments is ramping up quickly and could soon be a native solution for donations.

Salesforce Nonprofit Success Pack has a collection of apps that work together to help you run your nonprofit. You can use these apps to manage your donations, volunteers, and memberships, raise money online, and more.

Similar to HubSpot, Salesforce can be used to:

• Keep track of what you've done for each donor or volunteer.

• Automate follow-up emails and other communications with donors or volunteers.

• Set up recurring donations or monthly payments from memberships.

• Get up and running fast with prebuilt dashboards and apps that are tailored for nonprofits.

• Keep your most important data at your fingertips with intuitive views of what's happening in your organization.

• Create custom forms that help you collect information from your constituents, volunteers, or staff members.

• Reduce manual processes by automating tasks such as event registration and onboarding new volunteers.

💡On the surface, both tools offer almost the same set of nonprofit features. Key word: almost. There is one significant pain point that HubSpot addresses that Salesforce does not—your growth.

• The Salesforce Nonprofit Success Pack does not allow for customizations. Some organizations have found they need to spend upwards of $15,000-30,000 on customization, training, and maintenance during the first year, depending on your specific needs and goals.

• HubSpot’s pricing is flexible, with various features available at different price points, and you can get started totally free. However, any good marketer or salesperson knows that "free" doesn't always get you as far as you need to go. The good news is nonprofits can apply for a 40% discount or even stay on with the free version if it serves their current needs.

• The main thing to keep in mind is that HubSpot is meant to be an investment in your organization and its future. It's not a one-time cost; you're paying for a system that will grow with your organization, which means you'll want to make sure your budget allows for regular upgrades and support as needed.

• Email/phone/chat support is free for all Enterprise and Pro users, while Salesforce charges fees for support.

Just like with Salesforce, HubSpot isn't "cheap," but then again, subpar CRMs typically are.

Here are some things to consider:

• If you have a small budget, start with HubSpot’s free version. This will give you enough functionality to see if it works for your organization without having to make a big upfront investment. If it does work, consider upgrading later.

• If you're on a tight budget but need more advanced features than what's included in the free version, consider hiring someone locally who already knows how to use HubSpot. (Hint: Digital Reach. Talk to us!)

💡Explore HubSpot’s pricing tiers here.

• Compared to HubSpot, Salesforce Nonprofit Success Pack doesn’t have an intuitive interface, so it takes some time to learn how everything works together in the system. According to this article, a person who is responsible for implementing Salesforce at your organization should expect to spend 5-15 hours per week for 3-6 months training staff in the use of Salesforce. The cost for such an implementation is about $20,000 per year, plus $1800 for each person who will need training.

• Through its Power of Us Program, Salesforce offers 10 subscriptions free (that’s 10 users free); however, the minute you need an eleventh user, it will start charging a monthly subscription per user. This just isn’t ideal for nonprofits that are poised for expansion within the next one to two years. With HubSpot’s malleable characteristics, shaping it to fit your needs is as easy as Play-Doh.

• Salesforce implementation costs for smaller-sized NPOs can cost upwards of $50,000. With HubSpot, that's cut to less than half. Depending on your specific needs, HubSpot implementation can cost about $7,000-$10,000. Both are pricey, yes, but HubSpot arguably offers more power and precision in personalization, segmentation, automation, and targeting donors in today's crowded CRM marketplace at the most affordable and flexible pricing options. The ease of use, training, handoff, and your organization's ability to use the tool for an unlimited number of users provides massive value for every dollar spent.

Bottom line: As you grow, HubSpot easily grows with you. With Salesforce, growth comes with a price tag.

💡Explore Salesforce NPSP pricing here.