Keap vs HubSpot
Trying to choose between Keap vs HubSpot as your email marketing software? Here's when to choose each tool – and the pros and cons to know about.
- 2.6 Trustpilot
- 4.1 Capterra
- 4.2 G2
Average 3.6 / 5
Keap
A sales and marketing automation platform catered to small businesses. Has CRM and email and text marketing features.
Pricing
Starts at $159 a month for 1,500 contacts (billed yearly)
Key features
- Email automation
- Drag-and-drop email builder
- Segmentation
- Reporting and analytics
- Integrations with various services
- CRM
- Virtual phone number
Support
24/7 online chat support, email support, and call-in support for the UK, US, and Australia. US call-in support is available on weekdays from 6 am to 7 pm PST.
- 3.4 TrustPilot
- 4.5 Capterra
- 4.4 G2
Average 4.1 / 5
HubSpot
A CRM platform that offers email marketing, content management, marketing automation, and customer service capabilities.
Pricing
Marketing tools only start at $18 a month for 1,000 marketing contacts
Key features
- Email automation, reporting, etc.
- Landing pages and forms
- Marketing automation
- Website builder and hosting
- CRM platform
- B2B commerce tools
- Customer service software
- Sales and operations software
- Integrations with various services
Support
24/7 support via email and chat on paid plans, phone support on professional and Enterprise plans. Community support only on the Free plan.
General info about company
Keap
Keap was founded in 2001 by brothers Scott and Eric Martineau and now CEO Clate Mask. The company headquarters is in Chandler, Arizona.
HubSpot
HubSpot was founded by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah in 2006. Headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Difficulty
Keap
Although users can create emails and automations without coding or designing, the platform is vast and can be overwhelming to navigate.
HubSpot
The software may seem complex and even overwhelming. However, newcomers get service demos and tutorials for a smooth start. Overall, the interface is user-friendly and approachable.
Best for
Keap
Small businesses that need to constantly keep in touch with clients via not only email but also text and phone.
HubSpot
Medium to big e-commerce companies that want an integrated software package with marketing, CRM, customer service, and website hosting all in one.
Free plan
Keap
No free plan, only 14 day free trial.
HubSpot
A free plan for 2,000 email sends per month. Available email templates and features are limited. No customer support, only the access to HubSpot Community.
Pricing
Keap
Keap has three plans, billed yearly/monthly:
Pro $159 / $199
- 1,500 contacts
- 2 users
- Email marketing
- Marketing, sales & workflow automation
- CRM
- Quotes, invoices & payments
- Landing pages & online sales
- Text marketing (US)
Max $229 / $289
- 2,500 contacts
- 3 users
- Core features
- Dedicated phone line (US & Canada)
- Appointments
- Enhanced landing pages & sales tools
- E-commerce tools (promo codes, order bumps, etc.)
- Advanced reporting
Ultimate $279 / $349
- 2,500 contacts
- 3 users
- Core features
- Premium CRM & sales management
- Advanced marketing & sales tools (round robin, email health report, etc.)
- Permission levels for users
- Affiliate management & collaboration
- Advanced reporting
Other pricing features:
- 14 days free trial with all the features
- All plans require a mandatory one-time onboarding fee of $999
HubSpot
Billed monthly:
- Starter: $20 for up to 1,000 marketing contacts
- Professional: $890 for up to 2,000 marketing contacts (the starting price is $3,890 with a mandatory paid onboarding)
- Enterprise: $3,600 for up to 10,000 marketing contacts (the starting price is $6,000 with a mandatory paid onboarding)
Other pricing features:
- Users are only billed for their “marketing” contacts (actively in use) and can have many more inactive contacts
- Even if a user cancels the subscriptions, they will be billed for the rest of their commitment period duration
Support
Keap
24/7 online chat support, email support, and call-in support for the UK, US, and Australia. US call-in support is available on weekdays from 6 am to 7 pm PST.
Customer support managers for each user, access to Keap Academy’s live training events and online learning platform, and Knowledge Base.
HubSpot
- Service demo for new users
- Technical support is available on paid plans only
- Access to the HubSpot Community on the Free plan
- Chat and email support on all paid plans
- Phone support only on Professional and Enterprise plans
- Mandatory paid assisted onboarding on Professional and Enterprise plans
- Advanced and Premier additional onboarding options
- Customer training
- Various courses with certifications
- HubSpot user groups
Features
Keap
- Email and text marketing automation in a drag-and-drop builder
- Segmentation
- Reporting and analytics
- Integrations with various services
- CRM
- A mobile app for iOS and Android for a virtual phone number and leads management
- Forms and landing pages
- Appointments booking and payments
HubSpot
- Email automation
- Dynamic list segmentation based on various criteria
- Email reputation reporting and tracking
- Custom reporting dashboards
- Integrations with popular services
- Drag-and-drop email builder and pre-made templates
- Landing pages
- Live chat with website visitors
- A CRM app for iOS and Android
Templates
Keap
18+ templates
Templates for one on one email conversations with clients
Templates for:
- Promo emails
- Online stores
- Flash sale
- Healthcare
- Home decor
- Fitness
HubSpot
15+ email templates
Only 5 email templates on the free plan
Templates for:
- Welcome messages
- Sales
- Newsletter
- Event invitations
- Announcements
- Ebook emails
Video/screenshots
Keap
HubSpot
Integrations
Keap
29 integrations including Zapier, Jotform, WordPress, Instapage, OptinMonster, and more.
HubSpot
1,495 integrations including WordPress, Zapier, Canva, Facebook, Salesforce, Shopify, Stripe, and more.
Devices
Keap
- Website
- A mobile app for Android and iOS to use a virtual phone number and manage contacts. Available in the U.S., Australia, Canada, U.K., and New Zealand
- No installable solution.
HubSpot
- Website
- A mobile app for iOS and Android to manage the CRM
- Chrome extension for Gmail or G Suite
- Office 365 add-in and desktop add-in for Office 365
- No installable solution.
Languages
Keap
English
HubSpot
English
Chinese (traditional)
Danish
Dutch
Finnish
French
German
Italian
Polish
Portuguese (Brazil)
Spanish
Swedish
Automation
Keap
Marketing and sales automations:
- Free consultation
- Deal follow-up
- Reminders
- Yearly birthday greetings
- Review request
HubSpot
Many pre-built automations (called workflows) triggered by:
- Contacts
- Companies
- Deals
- Tickets (for support purposes)
- Quotes
- Conversations
- Feedback submissions
Pros
Keap
- Helpful automations
- Many features (CRM, email marketing, etc.) in one place
- Customer support
- Integrations
HubSpot
- An all-in-one solution for e-commerce businesses: email marketing, CRM, CMS, and more
- 1,482 integrations
- Thorough onboarding and courses
- A strong global community
- Ability to store many contacts for free
Cons
Keap
- No A/B testing
- Difficult to cancel and billing issues
- Steep learning curve
- Software is slow
HubSpot
- Steep prices
- Complicated feature system may cause additional spendings
- Overwhelming amount of functions
- Support isn’t accessible enough
- Email templates aren’t sophisticated
Reviews from experts
Keap
Overall: Keap Max Classic: It does the job supporting our business. But none of us like using it. We have too many integrations and automations set up that it would just be too arduous to switch.
Pros: Keap Max Classic: It has a lot of features to support businesses that need the room to scale up. It is pretty powerful in what it can do.
Cons: Keap Max Classic: It is convoluted, complex, and confusing. We had to make custom forms and interfaces for our staff because everyone was too confused working directly within Keap. It is also SLOW. Most functions are not snappy. Creating and maintaining campaigns get really confusing really quickly once you graduate from the simplest of campaigns.
Keap allows small business owners like me to create systems and automation to run, grow and scale our businesses. As a solopreneur just starting out, I couldn't hire an assistant to help me schedule appointments or to send out my emails. I was losing potential clients due to lack of follow-up. My business was chaotic. Keap helped me create processes that run, practically on autopilot, while I am working on my business and working for my clients. It is like having a couple of extra employees.
What do you dislike about Keap?
Keap is a very robust platform, which means it does have a bit of a learning curve. They provide training and plenty of resources to help you learn, but it takes a little time to understand all its abilities fully.
HubSpot
The fact that it’s so user-friendly is a big advantage to using HubSpot’s CRM platform. Its guided set-up wizard, demos and intuitive interface make it a great tool for all levels of experience. It’s still a huge software with a lot of bells and whistles, but taking all that into account, its usability is still outstanding. You’ll be particularly impressed with its lead management features.
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Anything above Starter gets very expensive and requires you to pay a high onboarding fee. In the case of the HubSpot Marketing Professional plan, this is $3,000 on top of the $890/month.
Surprisingly, HubSpot’s templates aren’t quite what you’d expect from such a popular, modern tool. I’d like to see some more design options for email and landing pages.
Overall: I'm 50-50 with HubSpot. I see it as a compromise and middle step until we are able to get more specialized solutions for each one of their offerings.
Pros: HubSpot is a good solution for organizations at their early steps. It provides all the necessary tools for website management and marketing activities. The contacts' management is good too.
Cons: It doesn't go in-depth on anything. For everything that HubSpot does there is a platform that does it better. But we would need many different tools so we stay with all in one but shallow approach (for now). It is also very expensive for what it is.
*This information is current as of 02/13/2024. While we regularly update our articles, it`s possible that this article may not contain some of the latest information.
