HubSpot Marketing Hub vs. Litmus from Validity

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
HubSpot Marketing Hub
Score 8.6 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.
$15
per month per seat
Litmus from Validity
Score 8.9 out of 10
N/A
Litmus, from Validity, is an email marketing solution used to create error-free emails in less time. It is also used to build email campaigns, personalize and test them thoroughly, monitor deliverability, and analyze email performance.
$500
per month
Pricing
HubSpot Marketing HubLitmus from Validity
Editions & Modules
Marketing Hub Starter
$15
per month per seat
Marketing Hub Professional
$890
per month Includes 3 Core Seats (Additional Core Seats start at $50)
Marketing Hub Enterprise
Starts at $3,600
per month Includes 5 Core Seats (Additional Core Seats start at $75)
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
HubSpot Marketing HubLitmus from Validity
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredNo setup fee
Additional DetailsLitmus offers different plan types to fit various needs, offering monthly and annual plans, as well as fully customizable Enterprise plans.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
HubSpot Marketing HubLitmus from Validity
Considered Both Products
HubSpot Marketing Hub

No answer on this topic

Litmus from Validity
Chose Litmus from Validity
I've used HubSpot Marketing Hub previously to build marketing emails. In my current role, I do not use Litmus to build emails, only to QA - so I can cannot compare apples to apples. But I do have some familiarity with Hubspot, and I was never able to easily share an email for …
Chose Litmus from Validity
Litmus has an easier view to see how the emails render across different email clients and seems to be very accurate to how they show up in mailboxes.
Chose Litmus from Validity
I've only ever used Litmus. Thought about Email on Acid but this is the one I used at a previous agency and really liked it.
Chose Litmus from Validity
Litmus does a great job allowing you to see how your emails look across ESPS. No other company does this as reliably as Litmus. My only gripe with Litmus is that they do not have an option to use a drag n drop builder. This means I now have to use another program to build emails.
Features
HubSpot Marketing HubLitmus from Validity
Email & Online Marketing
Comparison of Email & Online Marketing features of Product A and Product B
HubSpot Marketing Hub
8.3
382 Ratings
8% above category average
Litmus from Validity
5.4
356 Ratings
38% below category average
WYSIWYG email editor8.5345 Ratings8.055 Ratings
Dynamic content8.3345 Ratings7.956 Ratings
Ability to test dynamic content8.3320 Ratings7.6231 Ratings
Landing pages8.5373 Ratings2.63 Ratings
A/B testing6.8297 Ratings1.84 Ratings
Mobile optimization8.0368 Ratings9.3345 Ratings
Email deliverability reporting8.0376 Ratings8.2252 Ratings
List management8.9377 Ratings1.82 Ratings
Triggered drip sequences9.0289 Ratings1.01 Ratings
Lead Management
Comparison of Lead Management features of Product A and Product B
HubSpot Marketing Hub
8.5
373 Ratings
8% above category average
Litmus from Validity
-
Ratings
Lead nurturing automation8.5368 Ratings00 Ratings
Lead scoring and grading8.1335 Ratings00 Ratings
Data quality management8.4343 Ratings00 Ratings
Automated sales alerts and tasks8.9312 Ratings00 Ratings
Campaign Management
Comparison of Campaign Management features of Product A and Product B
HubSpot Marketing Hub
7.5
333 Ratings
1% above category average
Litmus from Validity
-
Ratings
Calendaring7.7317 Ratings00 Ratings
Event/webinar marketing7.3261 Ratings00 Ratings
Social Media Marketing
Comparison of Social Media Marketing features of Product A and Product B
HubSpot Marketing Hub
7.9
357 Ratings
7% above category average
Litmus from Validity
-
Ratings
Social sharing and campaigns7.6353 Ratings00 Ratings
Social profile integration8.3342 Ratings00 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
HubSpot Marketing Hub
8.4
382 Ratings
13% above category average
Litmus from Validity
6.7
234 Ratings
13% below category average
Dashboards8.4379 Ratings5.610 Ratings
Standard reports8.3375 Ratings7.7233 Ratings
Custom reports8.5337 Ratings6.7165 Ratings
Platform & Infrastructure
Comparison of Platform & Infrastructure features of Product A and Product B
HubSpot Marketing Hub
7.8
354 Ratings
4% above category average
Litmus from Validity
-
Ratings
API8.2262 Ratings00 Ratings
Role-based workflow & approvals8.1293 Ratings00 Ratings
Customizability8.2316 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with Salesforce.com7.6235 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM7.7102 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with SugarCRM7.093 Ratings00 Ratings
Pre-Send Testing
Comparison of Pre-Send Testing features of Product A and Product B
HubSpot Marketing Hub
-
Ratings
Litmus from Validity
9.1
346 Ratings
14% above category average
URL Validation00 Ratings8.8261 Ratings
Link Tracking00 Ratings8.9229 Ratings
Spam Testing00 Ratings9.1258 Ratings
Email Previews00 Ratings9.6344 Ratings
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User Ratings
HubSpot Marketing HubLitmus from Validity
Likelihood to Recommend
8.0
(668 ratings)
9.1
(370 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
6.0
(372 ratings)
8.9
(27 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(119 ratings)
8.9
(21 ratings)
Availability
9.1
(25 ratings)
7.7
(8 ratings)
Performance
8.9
(17 ratings)
7.3
(8 ratings)
Support Rating
8.4
(88 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
9.1
(8 ratings)
4.5
(2 ratings)
Online Training
9.1
(26 ratings)
4.5
(3 ratings)
Implementation Rating
7.3
(48 ratings)
2.7
(12 ratings)
Configurability
7.3
(2 ratings)
4.2
(7 ratings)
Ease of integration
8.9
(5 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Product Scalability
7.3
(7 ratings)
3.7
(8 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.1
(3 ratings)
3.6
(5 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.1
(3 ratings)
5.5
(4 ratings)
User Testimonials
HubSpot Marketing HubLitmus from Validity
Likelihood to Recommend
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.
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Validity
Proofing your emails is necessary. This is a tool that allows you to see how your email not only renders on multiple devices but how it performs. Some email building platforms will tell you their drag and drop templates are ready to go, however they stop short of analyzing accessibility, checking links, load speed among other things. I've also experienced drag and drop template issues as new email clients are released. Litmus provides peace of mind that you did your due diligence on crafting your email. While Litmus does provide some reporting you will not see every typical analytic an email report offers. However, you can use your Litmus data to enhance your email reports which in turn creates a robust view of email performance.
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Pros
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
Validity
  • We haven’t explored the personalization features in depth yet, aside from using the Add-to-Calendar option, but we're excited to dig in further. Tools like live polls offer an easy way to boost engagement in our product marketing emails, and we see a lot of potential in using these templates to enhance personalization moving forward.
  • Litmus’ continuing education resources have been really helpful. I recently read an article on email deliverability that offered practical insights my team can apply moving forward. I especially appreciate how Litmus uses real examples and stats from the brands they work with—it makes the content feel actionable and relevant.
  • Online Training.
Read full review
Cons
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.
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Validity
  • I've not seen many limitations but I have noticed that sometimes emails sent from our CRM take too long to land in Litmus, or sometimes don't land at all.
  • As a beginner it was quite difficult for me to make my way around the platform - I thought "Create new" CTA was actually creating something new, maybe "Import from CRM" would have been more understandable. There were a few others but I remember this one.
  • In the Emails section, whenever I hover over an email, I want to be able to copy the subject line instead of getting the different CTAs appear intrusively (Summary, Builder, Previews & QA, Proof, Analytics, Monitor) - maybe these could appear on the bottom of the textbox, instead of them being imposed on top?
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Likelihood to Renew
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.
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Validity
It's one the best tools that we've found for this type of tool but we would like some additional features like spell check so if there's a platform that features that with everything else Litmus has, then we'd potentially look to move over to that platform instead. However, we are overall pretty help with the platform
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Usability
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.
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Validity
Litmus has integrations that make the software an integrated part of my work every day. Being able to test right within my email builder is just brilliant. Daily I also use the web interface to review analytics and spam testing. Overall it is one of the pieces of software I use daily without any complaints or issues.
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Reliability and Availability
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.
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Validity
We have never had a problem with Litmus being unavailable so I would say their availability is fantastic. There might have been one time years ago that the site was down briefly but it also might have been a server issue on my end. Either way, Litmus was back up and running in a very short time
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Performance
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
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Validity
As with all technology, there are inevitably use-cases where you are unable to get to your original goal without some good old-fashioned experimenting. Some situations will (and are) more urgent which complicates an effective integration of a new process or a new team using an existing process but the "issues" are regularly resolved by re-starting the process specific to when Litmus is introduced to a project. If it doesn't come out the way you're anticipating, run it again and verify there is an issue before declaring all is lost
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Support Rating
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.
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Validity
I am always so so impressed with the litmus support team. They are not only prompt but attentive and offer very personalised responses and support
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In-Person Training
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.
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Validity
I had internal training for how to use, not lead by litmus. Unsure if there was any external training which took place before my time
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Online Training
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.
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Validity
It has all the required information.
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Implementation Rating
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
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Validity
I didn’t really personally participate much in the implementation of Litmus, but from what I observed during the process, it was a smooth process with minimal disruptions. The team was able to get up and running quickly, and the platform’s user-friendly interface made onboarding fairly easy for everyone involved from the start.
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Alternatives Considered
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...
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Validity
This is not applicable to my role as I have used Litmus to test emails since I have started. Because of the ease of use, timeliness, consistent quality, and affordability that Litmus offers, I haven't found the need to look at similar products or organizations. If all of these features continue to stay strong, I don't plan on changing providers
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Scalability
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!
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Validity
With our enterprise account, scalability is not an issue. I have not yet seen or heard of significant issues with user access, API connections for integrations etc. This includes down time for "Scheduled Maintenance" as some providers call them, Litmus has the technology backing to support a global team with a 24-hour workday across regions
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Return on Investment
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.
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Validity
  • Litmus saves our team so much time by making the QA and email review process so much easier, streamlined, and efficient.
  • We often send out campaigns out to thousands of members, and Litmus gives us the assurance and peace of mind that everything is working as it should before it gets sent out.
  • Decreases the number of email review cycles we go through.
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ScreenShots

HubSpot Marketing Hub Screenshots

Screenshot of Marketing Automation with HubSpot. Here, marketers can define workflows for highly targeted and personalized nurturing campaigns that send leads and prospects the right targeted content at the right point in their decision-making process.Screenshot of HubSpot Analytics. These help track engagement with the entire funnel through real-time reporting on website performance, traffic and marketing effectiveness.Screenshot of HubSpot Social Media. HubSpot’s social media publishing helps improve scheduling and publishing social media content.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 the inbound marketing mix. More than a simple CMS, HubSpot provides an integrated authoring view with SEO-oriented suggestions as blog posts are written.Screenshot of Marketing Automation with HubSpot. Here, marketers can define workflows for highly targeted and personalized nurturing campaigns that send 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 view of view contacts, and allows for customized and personalized email communications.

Litmus from Validity Screenshots

Screenshot of Litmus Personalize Essentials, with live polls to give subscribers a voice and drive email engagement.Screenshot of Litmus Email Guardian, featuring 24/7 link monitoring to safeguard emails.Screenshot of Litmus' integrated insights reports, that can automatically combine metrics from Salesforce Marketing Cloud with subscriber engagement insights from Litmus.Screenshot of campaign preview, available in 100+ popular email clientsScreenshot of Litmus' inbox previewing and feedback tools, that help users to spot and fix issues early.