HubSpot Marketing Hub vs. Ion, by Rock Content

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
Ion, by Rock Content
Score 8.0 out of 10
Enterprise companies (1,001+ employees)
Ion is an enterprise-grade content experience platform that empowers modern marketers and designers to create no-code interactive content experiences integrated with their CRM or marketing automation tools. Ion helps enterprises to build brand awareness and increase conversions and lead generation enriching their contact database with declared, high intent data. Ion helps brands launch quizzes, ROI calculators, assessments, interactive infographics, and other interactive formats in…N/A
Pricing
HubSpot Marketing HubIon, by Rock Content
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)
Managed Services + SaaS
Custom
per year
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
HubSpot Marketing HubIon, by Rock Content
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesYes
Entry-level Setup FeeRequired$5,500 per customer
Additional Detailsion’s Build Anything SaaS platform provides organizations with an entirely new and agile interactive content marketing capability. It enables non-technical marketers and designers to create, test and measure an unlimited number of all types of interactive content marketing experiences. It includes unlimited seats, experiences, tests, customization, phone and email support, analytics and more.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
HubSpot Marketing HubIon, by Rock Content
Considered Both Products
HubSpot Marketing Hub

No answer on this topic

Ion, by Rock Content
Chose Ion, by Rock Content
I was not the decision maker to choose this over Uberflip, but the UI is much more appealing to me. It's incredibly easy to use, clean, and from a backend standpoint, it requires little to no tech savvy'ness. Our team has really enjoyed using it and has required no training …
Chose Ion, by Rock Content
I prefer ION because of the granularity of visitor data that I have access to and am able to analyze / optimize off of.
Chose Ion, by Rock Content
ion is so much easier to use compared to HubSpot, no comparison!
Chose Ion, by Rock Content
I did not pick ION so I can't speak into this.
Chose Ion, by Rock Content
After a few conference calls and one online presentation from ion Interactive, we realized that we had found our company's match for online content creation. The ion platform has everything we need (and more) so there is no need to work with other resources. This makes it easy, …
Chose Ion, by Rock Content
Did not compare against any others
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
HubSpot Marketing HubIon, by Rock Content
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
Ion, by Rock Content
-
Ratings
WYSIWYG email editor8.6332 Ratings00 Ratings
Dynamic content6.1333 Ratings00 Ratings
Ability to test dynamic content7.8309 Ratings00 Ratings
Landing pages6.3362 Ratings00 Ratings
A/B testing8.0286 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile optimization6.4355 Ratings00 Ratings
Email deliverability reporting6.2363 Ratings00 Ratings
List management8.2364 Ratings00 Ratings
Triggered drip sequences6.5276 Ratings00 Ratings
Lead Management
Comparison of Lead Management features of Product A and Product B
HubSpot Marketing Hub
7.1
360 Ratings
8% below category average
Ion, by Rock Content
-
Ratings
Lead nurturing automation6.4356 Ratings00 Ratings
Lead scoring and grading7.9324 Ratings00 Ratings
Data quality management7.8330 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
Ion, by Rock Content
-
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
Ion, by Rock Content
-
Ratings
Social sharing and campaigns6.4342 Ratings00 Ratings
Social profile integration6.5331 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
Ion, by Rock Content
-
Ratings
Dashboards7.9366 Ratings00 Ratings
Standard reports8.1362 Ratings00 Ratings
Custom reports7.1324 Ratings00 Ratings
Platform & Infrastructure
Comparison of Platform & Infrastructure features of Product A and Product B
HubSpot Marketing Hub
7.4
341 Ratings
3% below category average
Ion, by Rock Content
-
Ratings
API7.6251 Ratings00 Ratings
Role-based workflow & approvals7.2280 Ratings00 Ratings
Customizability6.0303 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with Salesforce.com7.8228 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM7.896 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with SugarCRM7.790 Ratings00 Ratings
Content Creation
Comparison of Content Creation features of Product A and Product B
HubSpot Marketing Hub
-
Ratings
Ion, by Rock Content
7.5
105 Ratings
7% below category average
Ideation00 Ratings10.099 Ratings
Content collaboration00 Ratings5.094 Ratings
Content Publishing
Comparison of Content Publishing features of Product A and Product B
HubSpot Marketing Hub
-
Ratings
Ion, by Rock Content
8.7
120 Ratings
7% above category average
Content hub00 Ratings10.0104 Ratings
Forms / Gated content00 Ratings10.0107 Ratings
Embedded CTAs00 Ratings10.0108 Ratings
Content distribution00 Ratings8.093 Ratings
Content promotion00 Ratings8.086 Ratings
Content automation00 Ratings6.090 Ratings
Content Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Content Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
HubSpot Marketing Hub
-
Ratings
Ion, by Rock Content
8.5
118 Ratings
9% above category average
Audience profiling and targeting00 Ratings6.091 Ratings
Closed-loop tracking and reporting00 Ratings8.095 Ratings
Content performance analytics00 Ratings10.0116 Ratings
Campaign optimization dashboard00 Ratings10.0107 Ratings
Best Alternatives
HubSpot Marketing HubIon, by Rock Content
Small Businesses
Vbout
Vbout
Score 9.4 out of 10
Vyond
Vyond
Score 8.7 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
PFL Direct Mail Platform
PFL Direct Mail Platform
Score 9.3 out of 10
Vyond
Vyond
Score 8.7 out of 10
Enterprises
PFL Direct Mail Platform
PFL Direct Mail Platform
Score 9.3 out of 10
Vyond
Vyond
Score 8.7 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
HubSpot Marketing HubIon, by Rock Content
Likelihood to Recommend
7.4
(654 ratings)
10.0
(135 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.0
(371 ratings)
7.0
(22 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(106 ratings)
7.4
(17 ratings)
Availability
9.1
(25 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Performance
8.9
(17 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
8.4
(88 ratings)
10.0
(18 ratings)
In-Person Training
9.1
(8 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
9.1
(26 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
7.3
(48 ratings)
10.0
(6 ratings)
Configurability
7.3
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
8.9
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
7.3
(7 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.1
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.1
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
HubSpot Marketing HubIon, by Rock Content
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
Rock Content
If you want to choose a quick start template and fill in the fields with your content, Ion will be fantastic for you. We've done this with whitepapers and quizzes and it's been great and extremely easy to use. If you have an exact idea of what you want, and a background in web development, you may get frustrated. Ion has some quirks that make it tricky to fully customize - everyone once in a while I really just want to go into the HTML and make some changes, but can't. If you are looking to reuse a piece of content for specific targeting (industry or account-specific), Ion is great. The dynamic substitutions are great and very helpful.
Read full review
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
Rock Content
  • Quick Starts make it so easy to get started.
  • Real-time updates are awesome and save a ton of wasteful process.
  • The combination of user friendliness for simple things and the flexibility to do more complex things is great.
  • Chat support is excellent and deeper-dive support has been super helpful.
  • The ability to use these tools in the cloud or embedded has given us tactic flexibility.
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
Rock Content
  • Ion University, while stacked with a wealth of information, is difficult to navigate from a troubleshooting perspective. The tutorial videos are all very helpful, but they are also very long. Sometimes I would want to search for how to address a particular issue I was struggling with and it would be a two-minute segment buried in a 45-minute video.
  • Again, getting back the self-guidance side of things. I think a lot of the tutorials are set up in a way that makes sense to Ion, but not as much to the end user.
  • I think the controls admins use when creating new users could be a bit more straightforward.
Read full review
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
Rock Content
We use it for every landing page and we plan on only doing more dynamic content creation. We dont see that option coming in-house any time ever in the future. ION has a very robust platform for us to work with that really allows us to do more for our customers in regards to having the one-to-one conversation.
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
Rock Content
Usability is straightforward, with extensive documentation and tutorials provided to ensure landing pages are built to specifications and can be optimized for performance. Built-in platform funnels give insight into customer dropoff, success/failures, and conversions (at a glance). Setting up a landing page can be done quickly and easily, with numerous integrations (CRMs like SalesForce, for instance) supported
Read full review
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.
Read full review
Rock Content
No answers on this topic
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
Read full review
Rock Content
Sometimes the editor can be a little slow.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
Rock Content
The ION support team is amazing. There has not been a single issue they they could not solve for me. If there is a feature or request that they do not have, they have even, on occasion, created custom scripts for our team. *Update 6/5/17 - ION has continued to delight on multiple occasions. I appreciate their attention to detail and ability to solve whatever issue I have. After 3+ years of use and support, ION still has my full endorsement.
Read full review
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
Rock Content
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.
Read full review
Rock Content
They offer a great amount of online training, videos, articles, etc. There is usually an answer available if you run into an issue. I would recommend taking advantage of the online training they offer. I wish I would have done it sooner.
Read full review
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
Read full review
Rock Content
There were a lot of things we learned about the tool once we really got in and got our hands dirty. Being hands-on was essential for our team to be able to utilize ION in the most effective manner.
Read full review
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
Rock Content
I was not the decision maker to choose this over Uberflip, but the UI is much more appealing to me. It's incredibly easy to use, clean, and from a backend standpoint, it requires little to no tech savvy'ness. Our team has really enjoyed using it and has required no training what-so-ever.
Read full review
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!
Read full review
Rock Content
Separate client portfolios enable scalability, however, some elements are still grouped for all accounts so it's difficult to scale for an ad agency with multiple clients. Would prefer totally separate sections of the platform for all clients with each element housed separately.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
Rock Content
  • Though we have not had the service long enough to see any measurable outcomes, we've been able to create interactive web content faster than ever before
  • The speed with which we can build interactive pages and re-use assets has been critical as projects we've done with Ion have made their way around and more and more internal clients have said "me too" for their own projects
  • It is very pricey at $28K for the base annual subscription (dropping to $24k after the first year), so depending on your budgetary situation, that may make no sense for your team--but we had contract money set aside for a company to build us a microsite for around the amount, so we just used it for Ion instead and will now be building the microsite ourselves using it
Read full review
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.

Ion, by Rock Content Screenshots

Screenshot of ion empowers your other marketing technologies to deliver higher fidelity, data-driven scoring, targeting, segmentation and personalization.Screenshot of The types of interactive experiences the ion platform can create is near-endless. These are the most common types used by our customers: Assessments, Calculators, eBooks, Interactive Infographics, Interactive White Papers, Landing Pages, Lookbooks, Quizzes, Resource Library, Solution Finder.Screenshot of See what our customers are saying about our platform and services!Screenshot of Starting at $2,000 per month, you get an unlimited, scalable interactive content platform with our full feature set. Including: Unlimited experiences, unlimited use of Quick Starts, Unlimited Seats/Users, Unlimited A/B/n Testing, Unlimited Sell-Side Experiences, Unlimited Phone, email & chat support, unlimited analytics... PLUS a FREE custom-branded theme that can be applied to all of your experiences.Screenshot of You have the option to start from a template or entirely from scratch. Our Quick Start template library includes more than 100 fully tested, responsive and flexible interactive experiences you can brand, customize and launch.Screenshot of ion is the only interactive content platform that provides the scalable foundation to grow from one interactive experience to one thousand interactive experiences. With ion, interactive content development complexity, long timelines, high costs and maintenance problems are replaced with freedom and agility.