HubSpot vs Zapier: What’s The Difference

Automation is the name of a game in the business landscape. Every business has three main key goals: streamlining workflows, saving time, and improving efficiencies. HubSpot and Zapier are two powerful tools to help you achieve these goals. But which one is the right for your business? In this Article, let’s dive deep into the HubSpot vs Zapier debate to explore their unique features and benefits. It will help you choose the right tools based on your business needs.

Hubspot vs Zapier: Which to Choose

What is HubSpot?

HubSpot is a marketing, sales, and CRM platform that offers various tools, including email marketing, content management, social media management, and sales automation. It also includes a built-in integration platform called Operations Hub, which allows you to connect HubSpot to other apps. HubSpot is a good choice for businesses that want a single, all-in-one solution for their marketing, sales, and customer service needs.

What is Zapier?

Zapier is a standalone integration platform that allows you to connect over 7000+ applications. It is a good choice for businesses that need to integrate a wide range of apps or create more complex automation than what is possible with HubSpot’s built-in integration platform.

HubSpot vs Zapier: Compare Features

Hubspot Features

It is a wide inbound marketing, sales, and customer relationship management (CRM) platform. It offers different features and tools to help businesses grow and manage their operations effectively. Here are some of the key features of HubSpot:

• • CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
    HubSpot provides a free CRM tool to manage your contacts, track interactions, and gain insights into your leads and customers.

• • Marketing Hub
    This tool is used for inbound marketing, such as email marketing, social media management, content management, SEO optimization, and marketing automation. It also offers analytics and reporting to measure campaign performance.

• • Sales Hub
    Sales teams can use HubSpot to manage leads, automate outreach, track deals, and schedule appointments. It also offers email tracking and templates for more efficient communication.

• • Service Hub
    Service Hub helps you manage customer support and service requests. It includes ticketing, knowledge base creation, live chat, and customer feedback tools.

• • CMS Hub
    HubSpot offers a content management system for building and managing websites and blogs. It includes SEO optimization tools and allows for responsive design.

• • Automation
    HubSpot’s workflow automation allows you to set up automated processes for marketing, sales, and customer service tasks, reducing manual work and improving efficiency.

These are just some of the many features that HubSpot offers. HubSpot’s all-in-one platform aims to streamline marketing, sales, and customer service efforts for improved efficiency and growth.

HubSpot Pros & Cons

Pros

• Combines CRM, marketing, sales, and customer service in one platform.
• Provides advanced marketing automation features.
• Offers in-depth reporting and analytics for informed decision-making.
• Suitable for both small businesses and large enterprises.
• Facilitates lead nurturing and customer relationship management.

Cons

• HubSpot can be expensive, especially for advanced features and large teams.
• It can take time to learn and fully utilize all its features.
• It may offer more features than some small businesses require.
• The free version has limitations in terms of functionality.
• Moving data in and out of HubSpot can be challenging.

Zapier Features

Zapier is an online automation tool that connects you with your favourite apps, such as Gmail, Airtable, Mailchimp, and thousands more. It allows you to automate your tasks and workflows by creating “Zaps.” Here are some of the features of Zapier:

• • Multi-Step Zaps
    You can create complex workflows by chaining multiple actions in a single Zap, allowing for more advanced automation sequences.

• • Triggers
    Zapier provides a variety of triggers that can initiate automation, including new emails, form submissions, calendar events, and social media mentions.

• • Actions
    Numerous actions can be performed due to a trigger, such as sending emails, creating tasks, updating databases, and more.

• • Filter and Conditions
    You can set up conditions and filters within Zaps to ensure that specific actions only occur when certain criteria are met, adding flexibility to your automation.

• • Delay and SchedulingYou can add delays and scheduling to your Zaps to control the timing of actions, allowing for more precise automation.

Zapier is a broad tool that empowers individuals and businesses to streamline repetitive tasks, save time, and improve productivity by automating processes across a wide range of applications and services without coding or technical expertise.

Zapier Pros & Cons

Pros

• Streamlines tasks by automating workflows and connecting apps.
• It supports a wide range of third-party applications, making it highly versatile.
• Offers a high degree of customization with zaps (automation).
• Affordable plans for individuals and businesses.
• Scales well with business growth.

Cons

• Lacks some advanced features found in specialized CRM and marketing tools.
• Complex automation may require technical knowledge.
• It relies on the availability and functionality of integrated apps.

HubSpot vs Zapier: Compare Integration Process

Hubspot Integration Process

The HubSpot integration process is the process of connecting the HubSpot platform with other software. It enables them to share data and functionality. You can follow the given steps to connect to HubSpot.

Built-in integrations: 
HubSpot has a library of built-in integrations with popular software solutions, such as Salesforce, Mailchimp, and Zoom. These integrations can be enabled with a few clicks, and they typically require no coding knowledge.

Custom integrations: 
If you need to integrate HubSpot with a software solution that is not supported by a built-in integration, you can develop a custom integration using the HubSpot APIs. It requires more technical expertise, but it gives you more flexibility and control over the integration.

To integrate HubSpot with another software solution, you will typically need to:

Identify the data and functionality that you want to sync between the two systems.

Choose the integration method that is right for you: 
built-in integration or custom integration.

Configure the integration. 
This may involve providing your HubSpot login credentials, authorizing the integration to access certain data or functionality in the other system, and mapping fields between the two systems.

Test the integration. 
Once you have configured the integration, it is important to test it to make sure that it is working properly.

Once your integration is set up and tested, you can use it to automate tasks, improve your workflow, and gain an understanding of your business.

Zapier Integration Process

The integration process for Zapier connects two or more applications to automate tasks and workflows. Here are the general steps to set up an integration using Zapier:

Create a Zapier Account
If you still need to get a Zapier account, sign up for one at Zapier’s website.

Log in to Your Zapier Account
After creating your account, log in to your Zapier dashboard.

Click “Make a Zap”
In your Zapier dashboard, click the “Make a Zap” button to start creating your integration.

Choose a Trigger App
Select the app that will trigger the automation. For example, if you want to automate email notifications when a new form is submitted on your website, you might choose a form builder app as the trigger app.

Select a Trigger Event
Choose the specific event within the trigger app that will initiate the automation. For example, you might select “New Form Submission” as the trigger event.

Connect Your Trigger App
Follow the on-screen instructions to connect your trigger app to Zapier. Log in to your account for that app and grant Zapier access.

Set Up the Trigger
Configure the settings for the trigger event, such as selecting the specific form or specifying any conditions.

Choose an Action App
Select the app where you want the automation to act. This is the app that will receive and process data or perform a task as a result of the trigger event.

Select an Action Event
Choose the specific action event within the action app. For example, if you want to send an email, you might select “Send Email” as the action event.

Connect Your Action App

Follow the instructions to connect your action app to Zapier, which may involve logging in to your account for that app and granting permission.

Set Up the Action
Configure the settings for the action event, such as specifying the recipient’s email address, subject, and message for an email action.

Test Your Zap
Run a test to ensure that the integration is working as expected. Zapier will use sample data from your trigger app to simulate the automation.

Turn On Your Zap
Once you’re satisfied with the test results, activate your Zap to start the automation. It will continue to run automatically whenever the trigger event occurs.

Monitor and Edit
Regularly check your Zaps for any errors or issues. You can edit and modify your Zaps at any time to adjust their behaviour or add additional steps.

Review Zap History
Zapier keeps a history of all the actions your Zaps have performed. You can review this history to track the performance of your integrations.

In your Zapier dashboard, you can manage and organize your Zaps, create folders, and turn specific Zaps on or off as needed.