Hubspot CMS + Marketing Hub Starter vs. Marketing Hub Professional

[gladston3]

Hi,

since we absolutely want to publish our blog on a subdirectory and not on a subdomain, we are forced to use the Hubspot CMS (feel free to correct me here if I am wrong).
Unfortunately Marketing Hub Professional + Hubspot CMS is too expensive for us at the moment (especially because the starter version of CMS is no longer available).
So we are considering to start with CMS + Marketing Hub Starter and upgrade to Marketing Hub Professional later, when (hopefully) more and more leads come in and the Marketing Automation functions get more useful and necessary.

What important features are we losing compared to Marketing Hub Professional besides the Marketing Automation/Workflows? And what do you think about that plan in general?

I am also a little bit concerned about how easy it will be to find skillful people for Hubspot CMS compared to Wordpress which is undoubtedly the somehow gold standard nowadays.

Thanks a lot in advance
Cheers
-gladston3

[Josh]

Hi @gladston3,

Great question!

If the Pro version is limiting due to the investment, going starter + CMS is a good choice. 

The big thing you'll be missing out on is the marketing automation.

The custom reporting that comes with marketing pro is also great, but you can replicate that through a bit more manual reporting or connecting something like Databox.

Some of the other things that don't come with Marketing Pro, you're gaining with the CMS functionality.

As far as support, you won't have as wide of a network as WordPress, but overall the HubSpot eco-sphere is super helpful. If you're looking for something that needs done, there will be someone with the skill set that can do it. Most of the agency people I've worked with via the HubSpot Partner network is really great about referring people to the right solution for the job.

As you're contemplating this decision, I'd be happy to have a phone call with you to answer any lingering questions. I've actually discussing the same exact setup with a company over the past couple of weeks.

Send me a private message if you'd like to talk.

Josh

[Josh]

I'm pinging a few others to get their insight as well...

@MFrankJohnson, @Phil_Vallender, @Jsum, @bradmin 

[Phil_Vallender]

Hi @gladston3 

I agree with @Josh's assessment. 

The features included in the CMS actually go a long way toward making up for what you miss out on by going for Marketing Hub Starter. And for a business that is just getting started with inbound, or a SaaS business with a highly transatactional purchase where nurturing is less of a priority, Starter + CMS can be a great combo. 

By going for Starter you will indeed miss out on all automation workflows, and you will also have more limited email marketing capabilities - as Starter doesnt include the email design manager for fully custom templates. But this is probably workable in the early days. Oh and social media management, but you can probably handle that too. Many of the other tools that we use most frequently are there in Stater, but with caps on volume. 

Hope this helps.

[MFrankJohnson]

Thanks for the tag @Josh. Welcome, Florian -- @gladston3 

A couple years ago we posted, 5 Reasons NOT To Use HubSpot by an 11x HubSpot Certified MBA, on LinkedIn to address concerns similar to yours.
[SPOILER ALERT] You will only find reasons supporting the use of HubSpot in that article.

Last year we followed up with, What Does Mailchimp Do That HubSpot Cannot.
[SPOILER ALERT] It's a Batman vs Superman argument -- i.e., no contest.

Bottom line?

Client Expectation <> HubSpot Reality
It's been our experience that clients who start out feeling like they have little choice except to use a particular product or service tend to derive less satisfaction from that product or service. Cost, as an added factor, only compounds the dissatisfaction.

If we've totally misread your message and finding skillful people is your major focus instead, no worries there. HubSpot is widely regarded as the Formula One of Marketing Automation platforms.

As such, expert assistance is widely available through a well established network of HubSpot Agency Partners like Protocol80 and Blend, and/or via independent HubSpot Designers, Developers, and Consultants who work with the HubSpot Marketing Pro and Enterprise tiers.

Widely available? Yes!

Free? No. (except here in the HubSpot Community)

Great question. Thanks for that. Hope our comments add to your understanding.

Help answer your question? If so, remember to accept this solution now.

Best,
Frank

Chief HubSpot Consultant

---

MFrankJohnson.com | Perfect HubSpot Series | Connect on LinkedIn

Help find posts quickly ... accept this solution now.

[gladston3]

Hi @MFrankJohnson,

thanks a lot for your answer. I am little bit confused, though (maybe language barriers). What exactly do you mean by [...] clients who start out feeling like they have little choice except to use a particular product or service [...]. We don't really have that feeling and we spent a lot of time comparing different solutions. Now we are quite convinced, that hubspot is the best option for us.

Our main question is, if it is a valid and smart decision to start with CMS + Marketing Starter or if we miss some crucial functions compared to Marketing Professional even in the beginning, when there is literally no traffic at out site.

Thanks again
Cheers
-gladston3