HubSpot Marketing Hub vs Zendesk Support Suite

by Gralio Feb 12, 2025

HubSpot Marketing Hub is better for you if you prioritize attracting, engaging, and converting leads into customers. Zendesk Support Suite is better for you if your focus is on providing excellent customer service and resolving support tickets efficiently. The key difference lies in their core functionalities: marketing automation vs. customer service management.

At Gralio.ai we help to simplify your decision-making process by offering detailed, side-by-side software comparisons like this one, to help you confidently choose the tool that aligns with your business goals.

This comparison was created by analysing 9954 reviews and 60 websites, saving 2 days, 7 hours, 48 minutes of reading.

HubSpot Marketing Hub

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Zendesk Support Suite

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About

HubSpot Marketing Hub is a comprehensive marketing platform designed for businesses of all sizes. It offers a suite of tools including email marketing, marketing automation, social media management, analytics, and SEO optimization, all within a single platform. This helps businesses streamline their marketing efforts, improve efficiency, and track results. Its focus on inbound marketing and lead generation makes it a popular choice for businesses looking to attract and convert leads into customers. HubSpot Marketing Hub integrates seamlessly with HubSpot's CRM platform for enhanced sales and marketing alignment.

Zendesk Support Suite is a customer service software solution designed to help businesses of all sizes provide excellent customer support. It offers a range of tools, including messaging, live chat, AI-powered automation, and a self-service help center. It aims to improve agent productivity, personalize customer interactions across various channels (like social media and email), and streamline workflows to increase efficiency. Zendesk emphasizes data-driven decision-making and boasts a user-friendly interface that integrates with numerous other business applications.

Summary

Main difference

HubSpot Marketing Hub is a marketing automation platform focusing on inbound marketing and lead generation, while Zendesk Support Suite is a customer service platform emphasizing support ticket management and customer communication. HubSpot excels at attracting and nurturing leads, whereas Zendesk shines in resolving customer issues and improving support workflows.

Relative strengths of HubSpot Marketing Hub (compared to Zendesk Support Suite)

Superior lead generation and nurturing tools (landing pages, forms, email automation).
Strong inbound marketing capabilities (SEO, social media management).
Seamless integration with HubSpot CRM for sales and marketing alignment.

Relative weaknesses of HubSpot Marketing Hub (compared to Zendesk Support Suite)

Limited customer service support features compared to Zendesk.
Pricing can be complex and escalate quickly with contact growth.
Less focus on multi-channel customer service (e.g., live chat, messaging).

Who is using HubSpot Marketing Hub and Zendesk Support Suite?

John Short

CEO at Compound Growth Marketing

Olesia Krilyshyn

Sales Acceleration Specialist at Reply.io

Who should use HubSpot Marketing Hub VS. Zendesk Support Suite

HubSpot Marketing Hub is a user-friendly platform praised for its comprehensive marketing tools, insightful analytics, and seamless integrations. Users appreciate the robust features and training resources. However, some find the pricing model complex and the free version limited. Consider HubSpot if your business prioritizes inbound marketing and lead generation.

Zendesk Support Suite is a customer service solution designed to streamline workflows and personalize customer interactions. Users praise its seamless integrations and automation features, enabling efficient support across various channels. However, some users have noted issues with pricing and support responsiveness. Best for businesses prioritizing omnichannel customer service and seeking robust automation capabilities.

Best for small, mid-sized, and large businesses seeking an all-in-one marketing platform.
Ideal for various sectors, including e-commerce, healthcare, finance, and more.

Best for small, medium, and large businesses.
Ideal for industries like tech, retail, finance, education, and healthcare.

HubSpot Marketing Hub and Zendesk Support Suite features

Supported

Partially supported

Not supported

Type in the name of the feature or in your own words tell us what you need

Workflows and Bot Builders

Supported

HubSpot Marketing Hub offers workflows and bot builders for automated campaigns.

Not supported

Zendesk offers workflows for support automation, not marketing campaigns.
Email and Form Automation

Supported

HubSpot Marketing Hub supports email and form automation, streamlining workflows and saving time.

Not supported

Zendesk Support Suite offers automated responses and workflows, but not explicitly for marketing emails or form processing.
Multi-Channel Campaigns

Supported

HubSpot Marketing Hub supports multi-channel campaigns, including SMS and social media.

Not supported

Zendesk supports multi-channel customer service but not multi-channel campaigns.
Campaign tracking

Supported

HubSpot Marketing Hub supports campaign tracking, enabling users to track the performance of their marketing campaigns.

Partially supported

Zendesk supports campaign tracking via integrations like Proactive Campaigns.
HubSpot integration

Supported

HubSpot Marketing Hub supports the ability to connect and sync data with HubSpot CRM.

Supported

Zendesk Support Suite integrates with HubSpot CRM, syncing customer data and enhancing support processes.
HubSpot CRM integration

Supported

HubSpot Marketing Hub supports integration with HubSpot CRM to sync customer data and interactions.

Partially supported

Zendesk Support Suite supports HubSpot CRM integration, but it requires additional tools or workarounds for comprehensive two-way syncing of customer data and interactions.

Qualities

Value and Pricing Transparency

-0.57

Rather negative sentiment

-0.71

Strongly negative sentiment
Customer Service

+0.65

Rather positive sentiment

+0.49

Rather positive sentiment
Ease of Use

+0.8

Strongly positive sentiment

+0.8

Strongly positive sentiment
Reliability and Performance

+0.42

Rather positive sentiment

+0.28

Neutral sentiment
Ease of Implementation

+0.21

Neutral sentiment

+0.24

Neutral sentiment
Scalability

+0.29

Neutral sentiment

+0.03

Neutral sentiment

HubSpot Marketing Hub and Zendesk Support Suite Pricing

HubSpot Marketing Hub offers different plans, including Professional and Enterprise. Pricing is not directly disclosed on the page and requires contacting sales. There is no mention of a free plan or free trial.

User sentiment

Rather negative

-0.57

See full Pricing page

Zendesk offers a suite of customer support plans billed per agent, monthly or annually, with a 20% discount for annual billing. They offer a free trial for their Suite Professional plan. Additional add-ons are available to enhance functionality.

Plans

User sentiment

Strongly negative

-0.71

See full Pricing page

HubSpot Marketing Hub and Zendesk Support Suite review insights

9954 reviews analysed from and

Users love

User-friendly interface consistently praised for its ease of use.
The platform offers robust analytics and reporting features, providing valuable insights into marketing performance.
Excellent training resources and a very active user community.
HubSpot Marketing Hub integrates seamlessly with a wide range of other marketing and sales tools.

Seamless integration with a range of other products and platforms.
Strong automation features and configurable workflows.
The platform helps to expedite customer support procedures.
Provides strong automation features and configurable workflows.

Users dislike

The "free" version is extremely limited and most core features require paid access.
Contacts are expensive, and billing can increase rapidly with no warning as you add new contacts.
Some users report slow loading times and occasional glitches or bugs.
Email templates can be difficult to customize beyond basic edits.

Payment methods and structure are convoluted and inflexible.
Account managers are solely focused on making money rather than helping customers.
Unresponsive and evasive support team, often citing vacations as a reason for delays.
Inability to downgrade user numbers in a timely manner, leading to unnecessary charges.

HubSpot Marketing Hub and Zendesk Support Suite Ratings

G2

4.4/5

(2526)
Capterra

4.5/5

(2401)
Glassdoor

4.0/5

(3550)

G2

4.3/5

(2589)
Capterra

4.4/5

(2473)
Glassdoor

3.6/5

(1913)

Company health

Employee growth

15% increase in the last year

10% increase in the last year

Web traffic

10% decrease in the last quarter

11% increase in the last quarter

Financing

July 2012 - $101M

July 2022 - $86M

How do HubSpot's inbound marketing tools compare to Zendesk's customer service automation?

HubSpot Marketing Hub focuses on inbound marketing and lead generation, offering tools like email marketing, SEO, and social media management to attract and convert leads. Zendesk Support Suite, on the other hand, centers on customer service automation, providing tools like ticketing, live chat, and AI-powered bots to manage and resolve customer issues. While both aim to improve customer relationships, HubSpot's tools are geared towards attracting and nurturing leads, while Zendesk's focus is on providing efficient and effective customer support.

Which platform better integrates with existing CRM and sales automation tools?

HubSpot Marketing Hub better integrates with existing CRM and sales automation tools. It is designed for inbound marketing and lead generation and integrates seamlessly with HubSpot's CRM platform. While Zendesk Support Suite integrates with various business applications, HubSpot's focus on marketing and sales alignment gives it an advantage for CRM and sales automation integration.

What are the advantages of HubSpot Marketing Hub?

HubSpot Marketing Hub offers a comprehensive suite of marketing tools, including email marketing, automation, social media management, analytics, and SEO optimization, all within a single platform. This integrated approach streamlines marketing efforts and improves efficiency. Its focus on inbound marketing and lead generation makes it particularly attractive for businesses aiming to attract and convert leads into customers, aided by seamless integration with HubSpot's CRM. Users praise its user-friendly interface, robust analytics, and extensive training resources.

What are the disadvantages of HubSpot Marketing Hub?

HubSpot Marketing Hub's free version is very limited, requiring paid access for core features. The pricing structure, based on contacts, can escalate quickly and unexpectedly. Some users find the email templates restrictive, and occasional slow loading times or bugs have been reported.

Is HubSpot Marketing Hub cheaper than Zendesk Support Suite?

HubSpot Marketing Hub's pricing is not readily available and requires contacting sales, while Zendesk Support Suite starts at £15 per agent. Therefore, it's impossible to definitively say whether HubSpot Marketing Hub is cheaper without more information.

Alternatives to HubSpot Marketing Hub and Zendesk Support Suite

ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign is a marketing automation platform designed for businesses of all sizes. It helps you create personalized customer journeys across various channels like email, SMS, and ads. You can automate repetitive tasks, track customer behavior, and improve your marketing campaigns with its CRM and sales automation features. ActiveCampaign integrates with over 900 popular business tools and offers a wide range of pre-built templates and automation recipes to streamline your marketing efforts.

Freshdesk

Freshdesk is a customer service software designed for businesses of all sizes. It brings together all customer interactions - like emails, chats, and social media - into a single platform. Freshdesk helps automate tasks such as assigning tickets and offers helpful insights through reporting and analytics. Its focus on automation and user-friendly design aims to make customer service smoother and more efficient.

GetResponse MAX

GetResponse MAX is a comprehensive marketing platform for businesses that need to communicate with their customers more effectively. It offers tools for email marketing, marketing automation, and selling online. GetResponse MAX stands out because it provides a wide range of features in one place, making it a convenient solution for businesses. With a focus on driving revenue growth, GetResponse MAX promises to help businesses achieve their marketing goals through advanced tools and dedicated support.

Intuit Mailchimp

Intuit Mailchimp is a popular email marketing platform designed for businesses of all sizes. It helps you create and send marketing emails, automate your email campaigns, and track your results. Mailchimp offers tools to help you grow your audience, segment your customers, and personalize your messaging. It also provides integrations with popular e-commerce platforms and other business tools. Mailchimp stands out with its user-friendly interface, extensive features, and data-driven recommendations to improve your marketing performance.

Re:amaze

Re:amaze is a customer service software that combines live chat, email, social media, and messaging into one platform. It helps businesses manage customer support across different channels, automate tasks like sending messages, and track customer interactions. Features include a knowledge base, customer satisfaction surveys, and integrations with popular business apps. Re:amaze is suitable for businesses of all sizes looking to streamline their customer service and improve efficiency.

Contlo

Contlo is an AI-powered marketing platform designed for online stores. It helps you engage customers with personalized messages across email, text, WhatsApp, and social media. Think automated messages that adapt to each shopper's actions. Contlo also provides insights into customer behavior and campaign performance. Basically, it's like having an extra marketing team focused on using data to improve your results.

Page co-authored by

Michal Kaczor

CEO at Gralio

Michal has worked at startups for many years and writes about topics relating to software selection and IT management. As a former consultant for Bain, a business advisory company, he also knows how to understand needs of any business and find solutions to its problems.

Tymon Terlikiewicz

CTO at Gralio

Tymon is a seasoned CTO who loves finding the perfect tools for any task. He recently headed up the tech department at Batmaid, a well-known Swiss company, where he managed about 60 software purchases, including CX, HR, Payroll, Marketing automation and various developer tools.

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