Background
Dynamics 365 CRM
Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement is Microsoft’s flagship CRM application. Released in 2003 as Microsoft CRM, Dynamics 365 has gone through many iterations over the years that have added functionality and accessibility upgrades. In 2013, Microsoft launched Dynamics CRM Online, allowing users to integrate Office 365 and their CRM system. Rebranded in 2017, Dynamics 365 for Customer Engagement is a fully integrated online solution built to work with Microsoft’s other cloud business applications. Learn more about integrating your CRM solution →
HubSpot
HubSpot was founded on the idea of inbound marketing in 2005. Its founders believe that the helpful, non-disruptive nature of inbound marketing would be most able to effectively reach customers in the modern internet era. The HubSpot CRM platform is modular with multiple hubs that can be used on their own or combined for expanded functionality. Hubs include Marketing, Sales, Service, CMS, and Operations. The platform also has hundreds of integrations to work with many other apps and services.
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Licensing: Starts at $115/user/month with add-ons available. Additional packages starting at $190/user/month and $210/user/month.
Billing Frequency: Monthly
Implementation: Varies depending on the Microsoft Partner implementing the solution, the complexity of the system, the degree of customization, etc.
Other Considerations:
The most cost-effective Dynamics 365 plan is Customer Engagement starting at $115/user/month, which includes modules for sales, customer service, marketing, field service, project service automation, and social engagement. This package contains an unlimited number of personalizations/customizations, sandbox environments, and does not have a max amount of users allowed. Add-on apps from Microsoft AppSource may carry additional costs. System upgrades are both free and automated.
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Common Pros: Support for third party applications, process automation, ease-of-use
Common Cons: Overly complex, high learning curve
Dynamics 365 is a strong cloud CRM system built on Microsoft’s tried and true business application. Connecting to other Microsoft Business applications makes it very valuable to many users.
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Dynamics 365 30 day free trials are available. A free trial includes access to a Dynamics 365 trial account loaded sample data (you have the option to import your own). The free trial also allows you to invite other users from your organization to test for the duration of the trial.
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Dynamics 365 receives two major update releases a year, one in October and the other in April or May. Microsoft has been moving many of its business applications to this semi-annual release schedule to keep things consistent for users. Updates often carry a theme or main focus of development with them, but fixes will always be made across the entire system.
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Dynamics 365 allows organizations to personalize, change, and extend the system to fit their needs. Nearly every entity, field, dashboard, report, or other aspect of the user interface can be modified at the user level. Hundreds of paid and free apps to extend the functionality of the system are available in Microsoft AppSource as well as the ability to create your own apps. These apps typically require little to no coding to build, test, and publish, but developers can also build deeply customized applications. Furthermore, administrators can manipulate the business process flows so that the system can accommodate the way your company specifically operates. Microsoft has focused on building Dynamics 365 and other newer business programs to be very flexible and let users customize in the ways they see fit.
In addition to the wide range of apps that extend the functionality of Business Central, much can be done to personalize and enhance the interface each user will have. Using the Designer, users can easily drag-and-drop fact boxes, data fields, tables and grids, and other data that was previously hidden. Beyond basic changes, complex enhancements can be made to the UI using Visual Studio.
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Licensing: HubSpot offers multiple subscription plans and bundles, and price is determined by features, number of marketing contacts, and number of users. The CRM Suite Professional and Enterprise bundles are more closely in line with Dynamics 365 CRM features.
The base Professional bundle includes 2,000 marketing contacts in the Marketing Hub and five paid users for Sales Service Hubs. It can be billed monthly starting at $1,780 ($21,360/year) or annually for a discounted $19,200.
The Enterprise bundle has more included features, 10,000 contacts in the Marketing Hub, supports ten users in the Sales and Service Hubs, and the base rate is $5,000/month ($60,000/year) with no discount to pay upfront annually.
Billing Frequency: Monthly or Annual
Implementation: Varies
Other Considerations:
The Professional bundle includes the base 2,000 marketing contacts and additional bundles of 5,000 can be purchased from $250/month.
The Professional bundles also includes ten users in the Sales Hub and Service Hub, and additional users may be purchased at a monthly rate.
The Enterprise bundle includes 10,000 marketing contacts and additional bundles of 10,000 for $100/month. Additional users for both the Sales and Service Hubs are $120/user/month, and this is typically billed annually.
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Common Pros: User-friendly interface, easy marketing for all experience levels, value in free plan
Common Cons: Reporting features feel lacking, price point is a bit higher than many other CRM options
User reviews for HubSpot are overall very positive, often mentioning easy-to-use interfaces for even inexperienced marketing and sales people. The primary drawback seems to be price—which rise steeply with additional bundles of users, add-ons, and marketing contacts—and reporting options underperforming compared to other CRMs.
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HubSpot is known for its forever-free license plan that businesses can use indefinitely or as a test option. The features and tools of the trial option are generous yet limited.
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HubSpot tends to release updates on a fairly monthly schedule. The size of the updates may vary from month to month.
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HubSpot has an app marketplace with hundreds of different app integrations and connectors. Many of the popular app extensions are created by HubSpot directly, but there are also custom extensions made by third parties and other developers. Custom objects and properties can be created and used to store additional data not included in the stock applications. These custom objects can be used in reports and visualizations.