Gist vs. HubSpot Marketing Hub

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Gist
Score 9.6 out of 10
N/A
Gist is a unified marketing, sales, and support platform. It includes live chat, a help desk, knowledge base, email marketing, marketing automation, opt-in forms, and more.
$29
per month
HubSpot Marketing Hub
Score 8.5 out of 10
N/A
HubSpot's Marketing Hub is an all-in-one inbound marketing engine that includes tools for email marketing, landing page creation, social media marketing, content management, reporting & analytics, search engine optimization (SEO), and more.
$50
per month
Pricing
GistHubSpot Marketing Hub
Editions & Modules
Professional
$29.00
per month
Premium
$99.00
per month
Free
$0
per month
Starter
$50
per month (includes 1,000 contacts)
Pro
$890
per month (includes 2,000 contacts)
Enterprise
$3,200
per month (includes 10,000 contacts)
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
GistHubSpot Marketing Hub
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeRequired
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
GistHubSpot Marketing Hub
Considered Both Products
Gist
Chose Gist
Hubspot and Salesforce are great and powerful, they are just so much more expensive than what I need.
Chose Gist
Gist is better because easy of use and pricing. Hands down. It has an unbeatable cost-benefit ratio. Customer service has been with us since we started using it. That's great. For us, shortcomings such as no CRM are manageable. We like its front end appearance and customization …
Chose Gist
I have a lifetime deal with Gist so I may be a bit biased, but Gist is quite easy to use and has a free tier so it's worth a serious look compared to the other players on the market. Personal preference does play a big role in your final decision, as feature-wise, Gist has most …
Chose Gist
Gist is very similar in the feature list to HubSpot at a fraction of the cost. I have noticed that Gist seems to be releasing new features and improvements more frequently too. With HubSpot, you are paying to have a "dedicated account rep" which isn't needed for those who are …
Chose Gist
Gist has a lot of similarities to HubSpot (and it feels a lot like a lite version of HubSpot). It has many of the same features and functionality of HubSpot (forms, chat, emails, and knowledge base, for example). I like that it's much more affordable than HubSpot and still does …
Chose Gist
I started out looking at simple marketing automation platforms such as Mailchimp, then moved to an advanced package from HubSpot (trial) to see if it was right for me. The latter turned out to be very expensive, although it is a great platform.

The former, Mailchimp, simply …
Chose Gist
A lot more mature and complete packages. From automation to live chat that just works easier and looks a lot better. I think visual looks are important and Gist just nails that really good. It is also completely customizable and uses your colors and logo to make it a good …
Chose Gist
I firmly love that Gist basically copied the layout of HubSpot. It makes the transition SO much easier. The pricing on Gist is so much better than HubSpot and it does all of the same things and some more. The live chat and bots are better on HubSpot but I'm sure Gist will …
Chose Gist
I have not used these other more well known but pricier products so would not be able to give an informed opinion.
HubSpot Marketing Hub

No answer on this topic

Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
GistHubSpot Marketing Hub
Chat Analytics and Reports
Comparison of Chat Analytics and Reports features of Product A and Product B
Gist
8.6
2 Ratings
3% above category average
HubSpot Marketing Hub
-
Ratings
Chat history and transcripts8.62 Ratings00 Ratings
Chat reporting8.62 Ratings00 Ratings
Chat and web analytics8.62 Ratings00 Ratings
Email & Online Marketing
Comparison of Email & Online Marketing features of Product A and Product B
Gist
-
Ratings
HubSpot Marketing Hub
7.1
369 Ratings
9% below category average
WYSIWYG email editor00 Ratings8.6332 Ratings
Dynamic content00 Ratings6.1333 Ratings
Ability to test dynamic content00 Ratings7.8309 Ratings
Landing pages00 Ratings6.3362 Ratings
A/B testing00 Ratings8.0286 Ratings
Mobile optimization00 Ratings6.4355 Ratings
Email deliverability reporting00 Ratings6.2363 Ratings
List management00 Ratings8.2364 Ratings
Triggered drip sequences00 Ratings6.5276 Ratings
Lead Management
Comparison of Lead Management features of Product A and Product B
Gist
-
Ratings
HubSpot Marketing Hub
7.1
360 Ratings
8% below category average
Lead nurturing automation00 Ratings6.5356 Ratings
Lead scoring and grading00 Ratings7.9324 Ratings
Data quality management00 Ratings7.8330 Ratings
Automated sales alerts and tasks00 Ratings6.4299 Ratings
Campaign Management
Comparison of Campaign Management features of Product A and Product B
Gist
-
Ratings
HubSpot Marketing Hub
6.3
320 Ratings
19% below category average
Calendaring00 Ratings6.4305 Ratings
Event/webinar marketing00 Ratings6.3251 Ratings
Social Media Marketing
Comparison of Social Media Marketing features of Product A and Product B
Gist
-
Ratings
HubSpot Marketing Hub
6.4
346 Ratings
16% below category average
Social sharing and campaigns00 Ratings6.4342 Ratings
Social profile integration00 Ratings6.5331 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Gist
-
Ratings
HubSpot Marketing Hub
7.7
369 Ratings
3% above category average
Dashboards00 Ratings7.8366 Ratings
Standard reports00 Ratings8.1362 Ratings
Custom reports00 Ratings7.1324 Ratings
Platform & Infrastructure
Comparison of Platform & Infrastructure features of Product A and Product B
Gist
-
Ratings
HubSpot Marketing Hub
7.4
341 Ratings
3% below category average
API00 Ratings7.6251 Ratings
Role-based workflow & approvals00 Ratings7.2280 Ratings
Customizability00 Ratings6.0303 Ratings
Integration with Salesforce.com00 Ratings7.8228 Ratings
Integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM00 Ratings7.896 Ratings
Integration with SugarCRM00 Ratings7.790 Ratings
Best Alternatives
GistHubSpot Marketing Hub
Small Businesses
Olark
Olark
Score 9.5 out of 10
Vbout
Vbout
Score 9.4 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Genesys DX (discontinued)
Genesys DX (discontinued)
Score 10.0 out of 10
PFL Direct Mail Platform
PFL Direct Mail Platform
Score 9.3 out of 10
Enterprises
Genesys DX (discontinued)
Genesys DX (discontinued)
Score 10.0 out of 10
PFL Direct Mail Platform
PFL Direct Mail Platform
Score 9.3 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
GistHubSpot Marketing Hub
Likelihood to Recommend
9.6
(112 ratings)
7.4
(654 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.2
(2 ratings)
9.0
(371 ratings)
Usability
6.7
(4 ratings)
9.0
(106 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(25 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
8.9
(17 ratings)
Support Rating
8.6
(9 ratings)
8.4
(88 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(8 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(26 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(48 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(2 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
8.9
(5 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(7 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(3 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(3 ratings)
User Testimonials
GistHubSpot Marketing Hub
Likelihood to Recommend
Gist
If your marketing model is selling products, services, or SAAS where you are doing inbound marketing and your website will do most of the lead generation and conversion, this is a great product. From live chat, support, event tracking, and automation, you could almost put your entire business on autopilot. If your marketing model is mostly outreach to cold leads and conversion, this software currently does not have any type of sales stages or task generation. I would still use Gist for website inbound but use another software for outreach and cold leads then when they become a lead put them into Gist for marketing automation.
Read full review
HubSpot
As I said previously, I was not a fan at the beginning because, like everyone, I don't take change so well. Once I started following leads through HubSpot Marketing Hub, I integrated it with my email and created templates for what I needed, I started to see the positives immediately. My time working was better spent as I eliminated time put in routine tasks. I was able to track all communication in HubSpot Marketing Hub, we created systems in the office assigning tasks to one another and, through HubSpot Marketing Hub, our leads were able to book meetings in my calendar automatically. To be honest, if you are in sales and marketing, I cannot think of scenarios where HubSpot Marketing Hub cannot help. All I would like to say is, when using templates, pay attention to where you send them - you may need some personalization. I would encourage the management of HubSpot Marketing Hub to create short tutorials for beginners like me who need to configure and start using various features: setting up deals, templates, and dashboards.
Read full review
Pros
Gist
  • Customer service via a unified inbox so you dont have to separately monitor your twitter, Facebook or IG account for consumer communication there. Gist unified all into one inbox, better than anyone else I've seen in the market. They archive all communications and tie them back to a single user so you get unified customer history / data.
  • Marketing segmentation and automation: they track user history and behavior across the site and have super detailed segmenting capability, on par with ActiveCampaign's, but better I'd say. Better UI for the marketing admin person, and more unified data than in AC.
  • Live chat and chatbot. Usually it's either one or the other but with Gist you can do both seamlessly.
Read full review
HubSpot
  • All-in-one software - the main thing HubSpot does well is the breadth of functionality.
  • Easy of use - personally, I find it more intuitive than Marketo, which is the other MAP that I know well.
  • Ads - I like that we can drill down on ads by channel, ad group, campaign, and even create and see performance data at each level.
Read full review
Cons
Gist
  • Plan limits can be confusing. For example, there is a monthly charge for support and a monthly charge for "growth," plus there's a separate charge depending on how many contacts and seats you have. Perhaps this is normal in the industry, but it can make it a little challenging to understand the bill every month.
  • The vast amount of features means development will never be as fast as you'd like it to be (even though they release updates all the time). This may not actually be a valid concern, and it certainly isn't unique to Gist (who doesn't have a wishlist they're waiting on their favorite SaaS to get to?), but I do believe the likelihood of being stuck without your desired feature being developed goes up a lot as the product gets bigger and bigger.
  • Email deliverability has been less than perfect in the past, but it has improved drastically in the last year.
Read full review
HubSpot
  • While Hubspot has added some collaborative tools, I think this could improve. I'd like to see more options to comment on emails and ways of being able to share out changes as well as approval channels.
  • The ability to update ads via the calendar is pretty cumbersome. There's no good way to bulk edit or update. You have go into each one individually.
  • Real time edits would be nice. If you have multiple people working on the same thing, you'll get kicked out and your changes might not be saved.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Gist
Gist is a quite reliable service with a lot of added values. We don't need to pay for different Saas for these important features. If I had an issue the team was super responsive and helpful, that is essential for every business. The email delivery is great, so virtually no email has landed into spam folder
Read full review
HubSpot
Our business relies on the HubSpot platform to manage our marketing, sales and CRM processes. HubSpot marketing automation helps us define our activities and streamlines them in a cohesive and efficient way. Without HubSpot, we will have to revert to the 'old way' of doing everything with a variety of disparate systems.
Read full review
Usability
Gist
It’s pretty simple, but it does a lot so there are more complicated features which depend on an individuals ability for software implementation. I am not an IT expert and I’ve managed to implement everything myself, others that are more tech-minded may find everything easier.
Read full review
HubSpot
While there are some frustrating things that pop up unexpectedly ("wait... I can't do X?"), I have found HubSpot to be easy to use and extremely helpful to my daily work. The documentation is really good, and when it's not helpful, the support staff have been amazing.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Gist
No answers on this topic
HubSpot
They have had issues with system availability over the course of days. Sometimes the system is unusable, other times updates simply take a long time to show up. It's better now but, from a reliaibility standpoint, HubSpot is not Salesforce.com yet. Still great software though.
Read full review
Performance
Gist
No answers on this topic
HubSpot
With all the new features in HubSpot, the system can get a tad slow sometimes... That said, most of the time it is lightning fast and I have no problems. Because most of the integrations are API, they silently work in the background. I have not had trouble with lag due to HubSpot integration
Read full review
Support Rating
Gist
Fantastic support. Ask a question, get an answer within 24 hours every time. And sometimes within a few minutes. They've always come through for me, helpful and, even when it's an issue on my end, they point me in the right direction.
Read full review
HubSpot
During the few times I've needed it, HS support has been accessible, helpful and efficient. Often rolling up their sleeves to make changes for you as opposed to leaving you with a list of instructions to decipher on your own.
Read full review
In-Person Training
Gist
No answers on this topic
HubSpot
I did the 2-day classroom at HubSpot's corporate office in Cambridge. First off, it was amazing to see their corporate office in general. They have such a cool office environment. But it was also great to have the ability to learn in a workshop format with other HubSpot users and meet my Account Manager/ Inbound Marketing Consultant in person.
Read full review
Online Training
Gist
No answers on this topic
HubSpot
I went through Inbound Marketing University in 2006. Great training and helped my transition from traditional (outbound) marketing to inbound marketing that I've been able to apply to a number of businesses from wastewater and water reuse, to professional services and SaaS. Share information of value to build awareness and trust. Answer customers' questions in a transparent way to generate more qualified leads. Understand the difference between a marketing qualified lead and a sales qualified lead and put together a lead nurturing program. Your sales and marketing efforts will see significant ROI.
Read full review
Implementation Rating
Gist
No answers on this topic
HubSpot
My biggest piece of advice for those who are implementing Hubspot is that you need to devote the time up front and learn how to use the product. Once you learn how to use Hubspot, it will be much more effective as well as much easier to use in the long run
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
Gist
Gist combines all our previous products into one application and adds many more features that would require more apps. Gist is excellent and a no-brainer all-in-one application when compared to having to manage multiple applications at higher cost. The support from the whole Gist team has been extremely responsive.
Read full review
HubSpot
Other competing software such as Zoho and Boomtown may have more bells and whistles, but it is too cumbersome and has many parts that only advanced users can operate. With HubSpot, each function is within reach of the average agent. It doesn't overpromise and then makes you feel incompetent when you can't use it all...
Read full review
Scalability
Gist
No answers on this topic
HubSpot
HubSpot is addressing this more and more. Currently you can assign tasks to designated sales teams, which grow as you grow. They've added free baseline products for those just getting started. These and more contribute to the scalability of HubSpot - so I gave it an 8 and am hoping for more in the future!
Read full review
Return on Investment
Gist
  • They are perfect for me as a someone who needs a lot of bang for the buck. The chat messenger device on my website alone has brought me new prospects that I did not have to spend money recruiting.
  • I am able to save hours of time with the automated emails that are GDPR compliant.
  • I don't have to pay for a designer to have excellent looking emails either.
Read full review
HubSpot
  • HubSpot has helped us increased our lead generation.
  • HubSpot has allowed us to continue to grow our customer base without having to spend a ton of marketing dollars on advertising.
  • HubSpot has allowed our company to standardize our process and bring the company onto one platform for sales and marketing.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Gist Screenshots

Screenshot of Live ChatScreenshot of Email MarketingScreenshot of Marketing Automation WorkflowsScreenshot of Knowledge BaseScreenshot of Meetings

HubSpot Marketing Hub Screenshots

Screenshot of Marketing Automation with HubSpot - Define workflows for highly targeted and personalized nurturing campaigns that send your leads and prospects the right targeted content at the right point in their decision-making process.Screenshot of HubSpot Analytics - Track engagement with your entire funnel with real-time reporting on website performance, traffic and marketing effectiveness.Screenshot of HubSpot Social Media - Don’t batch and blast. HubSpot’s social media publishing helps you become smarter about the way you schedule and publish content on social media.Screenshot of HubSpot Blogging and SEO - HubSpot provides an integrated set of tools for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) which makes getting found online a natural part of your inbound marketing mix. More than a simple CMS, HubSpot provides an integrated authoring view with SEO-oriented suggestions as you write blog posts.Screenshot of Marketing Automation with HubSpot - Define workflows for highly targeted and personalized nurturing campaigns that send your leads and prospects the right targeted content at the right point in their decision-making process.Screenshot of HubSpot Contacts - Integrating with most common CRMs, HubSpot provides a seamless view of your contacts, allowing you to customize and personalize email communications.