HubSpot Marketing Hub vs. Zendesk Suite

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
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
Zendesk Suite
Score 8.2 out of 10
N/A
The Zendesk Support suite is a cloud-based customer support software built for better customer relationships. Designed to improve customer satisfaction and to support customers on any channel: text SMS, web, mobile app, phone, email, social media. The vendor states more than 200,000 companies such as Uber, Groupon, Box, Airbnb, and Slack are using Zendesk to lower their support costs, raise productivity, and increase customer satisfaction. Zendesk offers a full suite of products to meet customer…
$55
per month agent
Pricing
HubSpot Marketing HubZendesk Suite
Editions & Modules
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)
Support Team (Foundational Support Only)
$19
per month agent
Suite Team
$55
per month agent
Support Professional
$55
per month agent
Suite Growth
$89
per month agent
Suite Professional
$115
per month agent
Support Enterprise
$115
per month agent
Suite Enterprise
$169
per month agent
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
HubSpot Marketing HubZendesk Suite
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesYes
Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredOptional
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
HubSpot Marketing HubZendesk Suite
Considered Both Products
HubSpot Marketing Hub
Chose HubSpot Marketing Hub
HubSpot appeared to be the most user-friendly, with intuitive interfaces and comprehensive training. We also liked the level of support offered by HubSpot when setting up the system, as well as learning how to be good marketers.
Zendesk Suite
Chose Zendesk Suite
HubSpot was a better product. Our organization was already using Zendesk and it was less expensive than Zendesk. That said, we will be switching soon.
Chose Zendesk Suite
Zendesk is currently on par with both of these services in that they are great ticketing software programs but are light in Contact/Sales management. The autoresponder with Zendesk is much easier to implement and customize compared to the other options. The option of the mobile …
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
HubSpot Marketing HubZendesk Suite
Email & Online Marketing
Comparison of Email & Online Marketing features of Product A and Product B
HubSpot Marketing Hub
7.1
369 Ratings
9% below category average
Zendesk Suite
-
Ratings
WYSIWYG email editor8.6332 Ratings00 Ratings
Dynamic content6.1333 Ratings00 Ratings
Ability to test dynamic content7.7309 Ratings00 Ratings
Landing pages6.3362 Ratings00 Ratings
A/B testing8.0286 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile optimization6.4355 Ratings00 Ratings
Email deliverability reporting6.1363 Ratings00 Ratings
List management8.2364 Ratings00 Ratings
Triggered drip sequences6.4276 Ratings00 Ratings
Lead Management
Comparison of Lead Management features of Product A and Product B
HubSpot Marketing Hub
7.1
360 Ratings
9% below category average
Zendesk Suite
-
Ratings
Lead nurturing automation6.4356 Ratings00 Ratings
Lead scoring and grading7.9324 Ratings00 Ratings
Data quality management7.7330 Ratings00 Ratings
Automated sales alerts and tasks6.4299 Ratings00 Ratings
Campaign Management
Comparison of Campaign Management features of Product A and Product B
HubSpot Marketing Hub
6.3
320 Ratings
19% below category average
Zendesk Suite
-
Ratings
Calendaring6.4305 Ratings00 Ratings
Event/webinar marketing6.2251 Ratings00 Ratings
Social Media Marketing
Comparison of Social Media Marketing features of Product A and Product B
HubSpot Marketing Hub
6.4
346 Ratings
16% below category average
Zendesk Suite
-
Ratings
Social sharing and campaigns6.4342 Ratings00 Ratings
Social profile integration6.4331 Ratings00 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
HubSpot Marketing Hub
7.7
369 Ratings
3% above category average
Zendesk Suite
-
Ratings
Dashboards7.9366 Ratings00 Ratings
Standard reports8.1362 Ratings00 Ratings
Custom reports7.0324 Ratings00 Ratings
Platform & Infrastructure
Comparison of Platform & Infrastructure features of Product A and Product B
HubSpot Marketing Hub
7.3
341 Ratings
4% below category average
Zendesk Suite
-
Ratings
API7.6251 Ratings00 Ratings
Role-based workflow & approvals7.2280 Ratings00 Ratings
Customizability5.9303 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with Salesforce.com7.8228 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM7.996 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with SugarCRM7.790 Ratings00 Ratings
Incident and problem management
Comparison of Incident and problem management features of Product A and Product B
HubSpot Marketing Hub
-
Ratings
Zendesk Suite
8.2
112 Ratings
4% above category average
Organize and prioritize service tickets00 Ratings8.5111 Ratings
Expert directory00 Ratings7.270 Ratings
Subscription-based notifications00 Ratings7.676 Ratings
ITSM collaboration and documentation00 Ratings8.171 Ratings
Ticket creation and submission00 Ratings9.2112 Ratings
Ticket response00 Ratings8.9111 Ratings
Self Help Community
Comparison of Self Help Community features of Product A and Product B
HubSpot Marketing Hub
-
Ratings
Zendesk Suite
8.0
99 Ratings
3% above category average
External knowledge base00 Ratings7.995 Ratings
Internal knowledge base00 Ratings8.189 Ratings
Multi-Channel Help
Comparison of Multi-Channel Help features of Product A and Product B
HubSpot Marketing Hub
-
Ratings
Zendesk Suite
8.0
110 Ratings
4% above category average
Customer portal00 Ratings7.786 Ratings
IVR00 Ratings7.835 Ratings
Social integration00 Ratings7.366 Ratings
Email support00 Ratings8.6108 Ratings
Help Desk CRM integration00 Ratings8.679 Ratings
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HubSpot Marketing HubZendesk Suite
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Score 9.5 out of 10
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Score 9.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
PFL Direct Mail Platform
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Score 9.3 out of 10
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Score 9.0 out of 10
Enterprises
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Score 9.3 out of 10
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Score 8.7 out of 10
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User Ratings
HubSpot Marketing HubZendesk Suite
Likelihood to Recommend
7.4
(654 ratings)
8.3
(150 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.0
(371 ratings)
10.0
(40 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(106 ratings)
7.4
(23 ratings)
Availability
9.1
(25 ratings)
8.6
(13 ratings)
Performance
8.9
(17 ratings)
8.0
(10 ratings)
Support Rating
8.4
(88 ratings)
9.0
(29 ratings)
In-Person Training
9.1
(8 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Online Training
9.1
(26 ratings)
7.9
(9 ratings)
Implementation Rating
7.3
(48 ratings)
9.0
(18 ratings)
Configurability
7.3
(2 ratings)
9.3
(3 ratings)
Ease of integration
8.9
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
7.3
(7 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.1
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.1
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
HubSpot Marketing HubZendesk Suite
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.
Read full review
Zendesk
1. A lottery winner has a question about claiming their prize that involves tax implications. You can easily loop in a tax specialist from your finance department within the ticket itself for a collaborative resolution. 2. Lottery players frequently ask about specific drawing times or eligibility rules. You can set up automated responses within Zendesk to answer these common questions, saving time for your team.
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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
Zendesk
  • Reporting and Analytics
  • Ease of Agent Training and Use
  • Able to add multiple brands with related custom reports and dashboards
  • Adding a new brand and basic help center is easy to do without the need of an expert or web team
  • Ability of agents and supervisors to see customer history across multiple channels
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.
Read full review
Zendesk
  • I think the Graphical User Interface could use a facelift. It not the most aesthetically pleasing platform in my experience.
  • Particular things like where the default is when you click on each and every dropdown menu.
  • The macro integration could be a little more simplified.
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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.
Read full review
Zendesk
Zendesk is super easy to use and navigate. I really enjoy the sleek layout, the ability to tailor tickets, the macro option, and the quick key guide they have to make your use of time even more effective. My whole team loves working with Zendesk and rarely ever has problems.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
Zendesk
As an agent it's very simple to use. As an admin it's also easy to use, but sometimes lacks some functionality that would be nice to have such as expanded native 2 way sync functionality for many major apps that are commonly used today like HubSpot and Salesforce. The ability to add followers to tickets to they get updates and are in the know without the customer seeing this agent cc'd is a nice touch. This ensures additional visibility and easily following the communication without having to appear as a CC to the customer, who could accidentally remove that person in a response, thus breaking the visibility
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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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Zendesk
In the past year, I'd say I have only noticed maybe two hours total of downtime in my own usage. Very minimal.
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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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Zendesk
There has been minor performance degradation on a very few days out of the two years I have been using the product.
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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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Zendesk
Every time I contacted them they were not only very responsive and knowledgable, but always seemed to have a positive upbeat attitude. It probably helps that we did not have significant service outages or sev 1 level issues, but even my lower severity issues were quickly answered. And the positive and upbeat attitude really made things feel comfortable.
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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.
Read full review
Zendesk
No answers on this topic
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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Zendesk
Zendesk has tons of available material for training - videos, webinars, articles, etc. The only reason this is not a 10 is because it can be hard to figure out how to navigate to these things and find what you are looking for.
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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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Zendesk
I was very satisfied. They have a free trial for 30 days and I recommend you do that and use it. It is very easy to get started with the basics and the build on over time.

The only thing technically complex was single sign-on and integration to Salesforce.com required some tweaks – otherwise setting up system was very easy
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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...
Read full review
Zendesk
If spoken honestly Intercom is a level-par with any nearest competitor, Tools like Zendesk has to catchup with them in speed. However, there is an advantage to Zendesk with its simple and easy-to-get software which falls in every mid and small-size business pocket wherein Intercom is way too expensive and needs a tech admin to customize the product. The kick-starting feature with negligible configuration made Zendesk the ideal choice of our organization + the budget fell under our expenses.
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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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Zendesk
No answers on this topic
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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Zendesk
  • The positives weigh more than the negatives here, as it gives us a one-stop portal where we can tend to customer needs using one web app
  • It has also helped us identify areas of improvement based on the reporting feature
  • The value it provides outweighs any missing or lacking features that I'm sure will be available in the future
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ScreenShots

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.

Zendesk Suite Screenshots

Screenshot of Zendesk Agent WorkspaceScreenshot of Omnichannel MessagingScreenshot of Zendesk TicketingScreenshot of Bots powered by Zendesk AIScreenshot of Tone shift with Zendesk AIScreenshot of Zendesk ticketing side conversations