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If you’re considering HubSpot Sales Hub, you’ve probably hit a common roadblock: Should you go for the Sales Starter plan, or jump immediately into Sales Pro? At first glance, the differences between the two plans might not seem obvious – besides the fact Sales Starter costs less! Sure, Sales Pro comes with more features, but will those extra tools actually impact your sales team’s efficiency and revenue? Or will you end up paying for bells and whistles you won’t ever use?
In this guide, you’ll get a clear breakdown of:
- The key differences between Sales Starter and Sales Pro
- Who should stick with Sales Starter and who should upgrade to Sales Pro
- A decision-making framework to help you choose the right plan for your business
By the end, you’ll know exactly which plan is the right fit for your business without second-guessing your decision.
Sales Starter vs Sales Pro: Feature Breakdown
HubSpot Sales Starter and Sales Pro cater to businesses at different stages of growth, with features designed to accommodate those stages perfectly. For example, Sales Starter provides essential sales tools for small teams, while Sales Pro includes advanced features designed for scaling and optimising sales operations.
Let’s begin by breaking down the main differences between the two plans.
Calling Functionality
Sales Starter includes 500 calling minutes per month, which is sufficient for teams with moderate outreach needs. However, Sales Pro offers 3,000 minutes per user, plus additional functionality like call recording and transcription, allowing teams to revisit calls for coaching, quality assurance, and improved follow-up strategies.
Automation Capabilities
Sales Starter supports basic automation, such as simple workflows for follow-up emails. On the other hand, Sales Pro significantly enhances automation with advanced workflows and sequences. This allows you to automate repetitive tasks like email outreach, lead follow-ups, and task assignments, helping teams stay efficient while scaling operations.
Reporting and Forecasting
While Sales Starter offers limited reporting, Sales Pro provides more robust options, including custom reporting and forecasting. With Sales Pro, teams can build up to 100 reports, track revenue projections, and gain deeper insights into pipeline performance – essentials for businesses aiming to make data-driven decisions.
Sales Enablement Tools
Sales Pro includes several sales enablement features not found in Sales Starter, such as:
- E-signatures for contracts and quotes, making it easier to close deals faster
- Playbooks with proven strategies and processes for guiding sales reps
- Lead scoring to pinpoint and prioritise high-quality leads
These tools empower sales teams to work smarter, not harder, by focusing their efforts on the most promising opportunities.
Shared Inbox and Collaboration
Sales Starter includes one shared inbox, which is sufficient for small teams. On the other hand, Sales Pro allows up to 100 shared inboxes, enabling much larger teams to organise communications more effectively and cohesively.
Sales Starter and Sales Pro Plans At-a-Glance
Since it’s often easier to compare feature sets in table form, here’s a complete breakdown of each Sales Hub Plan with the different prices and functionality:
In summary, Sales Starter is ideal for small businesses or teams that:
- Need basic tools to manage deals and track outreach
- Have limited budgets and don’t require advanced automation
- Want to improve efficiency without complex feature
And Sales Pro is best suited for growing teams that:
- Require advanced automation and custom workflows
- Need enhanced reporting, forecasting, and analytics
- Want to use enablement tools like playbooks, lead scoring, and call coaching
Read: Is HubSpot a Good Investment for your Business
Who Should Stick with Sales Starter?
You’ve looked at each HubSpot plan and still feel perplexed as to what suits your business needs. That’s OK – let’s go deeper here.
Sales Starter is designed for businesses that are just starting out with HubSpot or have relatively simple sales processes. It provides all the essential tools for managing deals, tracking outreach, and streamlining follow-ups without overwhelming your team with advanced features or higher costs.
Sales Starter is a great fit for you if:
- You’re a small business or a startup with a lean sales team. Sales Starter offers enough functionality to organise your sales process without unnecessary complexity.
- Your sales process is straightforward. If you’re primarily managing a smaller pipeline with fewer touchpoints, the basic tools in Sales Starter will suffice.
- You’re on a tight budget. At $22 per month per seat, Sales Starter is an affordable way to get started with HubSpot and improve your team’s productivity.
- You don’t need advanced automation or analytics. If your focus is more on manual outreach and simple workflows, Sales Starter will cover your needs.
Examples of when Sales Starter is ideal:
- A local business tracking leads and closing deals through direct communication, without needing complex reports or advanced automation.
- A small agency that primarily uses meeting scheduling links, deal pipelines, and email templates to manage their client interactions.
In short, Sales Starter allows you to establish a foundation for sales management and improve team efficiency without overloading your team with tools they may not use.
Who Should Upgrade to Sales Pro?
You could be using Sales Starter already or brand new to HubSpot. Either way, the Sales Pro plan might be a better fit for your business.
Sales Pro is designed for businesses that are ready to scale their sales operations and need advanced tools to manage a larger pipeline, improve team productivity, and make data-driven decisions. If your team has outgrown the basic functionality of Sales Starter, Sales Pro offers the enhanced capabilities you need to take your sales process to the next level.
Sales Pro is a great fit for you if:
- You have a growing sales team. Sales Pro offers tools like shared inboxes, playbooks, and advanced automation to help larger teams stay organised and productive.
- Your sales process involves multiple touchpoints. With sequences and advanced workflows, Sales Pro makes it easier to automate follow-ups, lead nurturing, and task assignments.
- You want better analytics and forecasting. Sales Pro’s custom reporting and forecasting tools allow you to track pipeline performance, revenue trends, and team productivity more effectively.
- You need advanced enablement tools. Features like e-signatures, lead scoring, and call transcription/coaching empower your sales team to close deals faster and focus on high-quality leads.
Examples of when Sales Pro is ideal:
- A scaling SaaS company that needs to track thousands of leads, automate follow-ups, and prioritise high-value opportunities.
- A mid-sized agency that uses playbooks to standardise its sales approach and custom reporting to monitor team performance.
- A business with a long sales cycle that benefits from tools like call transcription for coaching and detailed deal forecasting.
In summary, if your business is growing and your team is juggling multiple leads, deals, and tasks, Sales Pro gives you the tools you need to scale efficiently and effectively.
Read: Is HubSpot Powerful Enough for Large Enterprise Companies
Which Plan is Right for Your Business?
Choosing between HubSpot Sales Starter and Sales Pro ultimately comes down to your business’s size, sales complexity, and growth goals. Both plans offer excellent tools to manage your sales process, but they cater to different needs.
How to Decide Between Sales Starter and Sales Pro
- Stick With Sales Starter If:
- You’re a small business or startup with a straightforward sales process.
- Your team primarily needs basic tools like email tracking, meeting scheduling, and deal management.
- Budget is a top priority, and you want to keep costs low while building a solid sales foundation.
- Upgrade to Sales Pro If:
- Your business is growing, and you need advanced automation to handle larger pipelines.
- You require detailed insights through custom reporting and forecasting.
- You want to empower your team with tools like playbooks, e-signatures, and lead scoring to close deals faster and more effectively.
Sales Starter vs Sales Pro: A Simple Decision Framework
- Do you need advanced automation, analytics, or enablement tools? If yes, go with Sales Pro.
- Is your sales process simple and focused on foundational tools? If yes, the Sales Starter plan should meet your needs.
A Final Tip…
If you’re still unsure, that’s OK – we recommend you get going with Sales Starter to test the platform’s features and become familiar with how it works. HubSpot makes it super easy to upgrade to Sales Pro later as your needs evolve, so you can upscale the platform in line with your business growth.
Learn more about how HubSpot helps your business by efficiently combining your CRM, marketing, sales, services and operations needs into one platform!
