Cheaper Than HubSpot Social: Save $8,000+/Year on Social Media Management
TL;DR - Quick Answer
11 min readQuick tool comparison. Features, pricing, and what works best for your needs.
Cheaper Than HubSpot: Save $8,000+/Year on Social Media Management
HubSpot is a world-class CRM and marketing platform. For sales pipelines, email automation, and lead management, it's hard to beat. But for social media management? You're paying Ferrari prices for a Honda Civic experience.
Social media features are locked behind Marketing Hub Professional at $800/month, a plan designed for full-stack marketing teams, not social media managers. If scheduling posts and creating content is your primary need, you're paying for a private jet to take the bus route.
This guide breaks down exactly what you're paying for, what you actually use, and how to get professional social media management at $29-99/month instead.
Key Takeaways
$800/Month Minimum: HubSpot's social features require Marketing Hub Professional. Free and Starter plans have zero social capabilities. Plus a $3,000 mandatory onboarding fee.
You're Paying for Everything Else: That $800/month buys CRM, email marketing, landing pages, workflows, and automation. Social is a small piece of a large suite, and most social-focused users never touch the majority of what they pay for.
Basic Social Features: Despite the premium price, HubSpot's social tool only supports 6 platforms, has no AI content generation, no video templates, and no content recycling. Features that dedicated tools include at $29-99/month.
$8,000+ Annual Savings: Switching from HubSpot ($9,600/year + $3,000 onboarding) to SocialRails ($348-$1,188/year) saves $8,412-$12,252 in year one while gaining AI content and video creation tools.
The Cost Reality
Year 1: HubSpot vs SocialRails
Year 2+: Ongoing Costs
What You're Actually Paying For
Here's the breakdown of HubSpot Marketing Hub Professional features:
If social media management is your primary use case, you're paying for features you won't use. It's like buying a Swiss Army knife when you only need scissors.
Create content, post everywhere
Create posts, images, and carousels with AI. Schedule to 9 platforms in seconds.
Start your free trialFeature Comparison: What You Get for the Money
Social Features: HubSpot vs SocialRails
SocialRails does more for social at $29/month than HubSpot does at $800/month.
What percentage of HubSpot Marketing Hub Professional do you actually use if you only need social media?
💡 Tip: Think carefully before selecting your answer!
Cost Comparison by Team Size
Solo Social Media Manager
Team of 3
Team of 5
Note: HubSpot Marketing Hub pricing is per portal, not per user. But additional users may need paid seats in other Hubs. SocialRails pricing includes team members.
When HubSpot's Price Is Justified
Be honest with yourself. HubSpot makes sense if:
- You use the full marketing suite: CRM, email sequences, landing pages, workflows, AND social
- Revenue attribution matters: tracking social posts to actual CRM deals
- Your organization standardized on HubSpot, and switching costs outweigh the savings
- Budget isn't a constraint, $800/month is a rounding error in your marketing spend
If three or more of these apply, stay with HubSpot. The integration value is real.
You're paying $800/month for HubSpot but only use social scheduling and CRM. What saves the most money?
When to Switch and Save
Switch to a dedicated tool if:
- Social media is your primary marketing activity
- You don't use HubSpot's CRM, email, or automation features
- $800/month is a significant portion of your marketing budget
- You need TikTok, Threads, or Bluesky support
- You want AI content generation to save time
- You manage multiple client accounts (agency use case)
How to Switch Without Losing Anything
- Download your content. Export any scheduled posts and content calendars
- Set up SocialRails. Connect your social accounts (takes 15 minutes)
- Keep HubSpot CRM. Downgrade to Free or Starter ($0-$20/mo) for CRM only
- Save $8,000+/year. Use the savings for actual content creation, ads, or team growth
You don't have to lose HubSpot's CRM. Just stop overpaying for social features.
Create content, post everywhere
Create posts, images, and carousels with AI. Schedule to 9 platforms in seconds.
Start your free trialThe Bottom Line
HubSpot is not overpriced for what it is, a complete marketing platform. But it is overpriced if all you need is social media management.
Paying $800/month for social scheduling is like paying for a gym membership to use the water fountain.
SocialRails gives you everything HubSpot's social tool offers, plus AI content generation, video templates, and more platforms, starting at $29/month.
That's a 96% cost reduction with better social features.
Start your free SocialRails trial →Related
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