Softwr

CRM · head to head

HubSpot vs Mautic

HubSpot logo

HubSpot

CRM

Grow better with HubSpot

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Mautic logo

Mautic

Marketing

The main open source marketing automation platform, self-hosted and GPL licensed

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: HubSpot free tier limited to 2 users and 1,000 contacts; severely restricts growing teams; Mautic mautic depends on reliably scheduled cron jobs to process segments and send campaigns, and a misconfigured or silently failing schedule stops sends without an obvious error, which is the most common way Mautic deployments fail in production.
  • They diverge on capability: HubSpot covers CRM, Mautic covers Visual campaign builder.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which HubSpot and Mautic actually diverge.

Attributes where HubSpot and Mautic differ
AttributeHubSpotMautic
Pricing modelsubscriptionOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWeb, Mobile, CloudWeb, Linux, Self-hosted, Docker
CategoryCRMMarketing
Founded2006Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in HubSpot

  • CRM
  • Email marketing
  • Marketing automation
  • Sales pipeline
  • Customer service
  • Content management
  • Analytics
  • Social media

Only in Mautic

  • Visual campaign builder
  • Contact management and segmentation
  • Landing pages and forms
  • Lead scoring
  • Dynamic web content
  • Email builder and A/B testing
  • Self-hosted data control
  • No feature gating

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

HubSpot

  • Marketing automation with email sending and lead generationnot Mautic
  • CRM with deal pipeline managementnot Mautic
  • Multi-user team collaborationnot Mautic

Mautic

  • A marketing agency running automation for many clients that cannot pass on per-contact SaaS pricing at scalenot HubSpot
  • A European university or public body whose data protection position requires contact data to stay on infrastructure it controlsnot HubSpot
  • A company with a list of several hundred thousand contacts where SaaS per-contact pricing has become the largest line in the marketing budgetnot HubSpot
  • A team that needs to modify the automation logic itself, not just configure it, and wants source access to do sonot HubSpot

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

HubSpot

  • Free tier limited to 2 users and 1,000 contacts; severely restricts growing teams
  • Many advanced features (automation workflows, custom objects, advanced reporting) gated to paid tiers
  • Starter plan at $7/month per seat scales quickly for larger teams (300+ users would cost significantly more)
  • Free tier removes credit card requirement but lacks most enterprise capabilities

Mautic

  • Mautic depends on reliably scheduled cron jobs to process segments and send campaigns, and a misconfigured or silently failing schedule stops sends without an obvious error, which is the most common way Mautic deployments fail in production.
  • Email sending is not included: you must arrange, pay for and warm up your own sending infrastructure through Amazon SES, SendGrid or similar, and deliverability problems become entirely your problem with no vendor to escalate to.
  • Acquia owns the commercial descendant, Campaign Studio, and is the largest contributor, so the loudest commercial interest in the ecosystem benefits from a hosted product rather than from the self-hosted one being easy.
  • Upgrades between major versions have historically been disruptive, requiring database migrations and plugin compatibility checks, so a neglected instance can become expensive to bring current.
  • The interface and the reporting are noticeably behind commercial platforms, so marketing teams that came from HubSpot or ActiveCampaign will find everyday tasks slower and will need training.

Pricing, plan by plan

HubSpot

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Up to 2 users
    • Lead generation
    • Email sending
  • Starter$7/month
    • 500 HubSpot Credits
    • 1,000 marketing contacts
    • 5x contact tier limit email sends
  • Professional$800/month
    • 3 core seats included
    • 3,000 HubSpot Credits
    • 2,000 marketing contacts
  • Enterprise$3600/month
    • 5 core seats included
    • 5,000 HubSpot Credits
    • 10,000 marketing contacts

Mautic

Free
  • Self-hosted communityFree
    • GPL licensed, no licence fee and no contact limits
    • All features included, no paid edition
    • You provide hosting, database, cron scheduling and email sending
  • Managed Mautic hosting$undefined/month
    • Third-party managed hosting listed by the project
    • Updates, backups and cron scheduling handled for you
    • Pricing varies by provider and is not set by the project

Which should you pick?

Choose HubSpot if

  • You need crm.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Mobile, Cloud.
  • You also want email marketing.
HubSpot review

Choose Mautic if

  • You need visual campaign builder.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Self-hosted, Docker.
  • You also want contact management and segmentation.
Mautic review

Questions people ask

Is HubSpot or Mautic better?
Neither clearly leads. HubSpot starts at Free and Mautic at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, HubSpot or Mautic?
HubSpot starts at Free and Mautic at Free.
Does HubSpot or Mautic run on more platforms?
HubSpot runs on Web, Mobile, Cloud. Mautic runs on Web, Linux, Self-hosted, Docker.
Can I use HubSpot for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is HubSpot best used for?
HubSpot is most often used for marketing automation with email sending and lead generation, crm with deal pipeline management, multi-user team collaboration. Of those, marketing automation with email sending and lead generation and crm with deal pipeline management are not what Mautic is typically brought in for.
What can HubSpot do that Mautic cannot?
HubSpot covers CRM, Email marketing, Marketing automation, Sales pipeline. Mautic covers Visual campaign builder, Contact management and segmentation, Landing pages and forms, Lead scoring.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

HubSpot: How much does HubSpot Marketing Hub cost per user?

Free plan at $0/month for up to 2 users. Starter at $7/month per seat (annual), Professional at $800/month for 3 core seats with $45/month per additional seat, Enterprise at $3,600/month for 5 core seats with $75/month per additional seat.

Source
Mautic: Is Mautic free?

Yes, GPL licensed with no licence fee and no contact limits. You pay for hosting, email sending and the staff time to maintain it.

HubSpot: What are the onboarding costs for HubSpot Professional and Enterprise plans?

Professional plan requires a one-time onboarding fee of $3,000. Enterprise plan requires a one-time onboarding fee of $7,000.

Source
Mautic: Does Acquia own Mautic?

Acquia acquired the founding commercial entity in 2019 and sells Campaign Studio built on it, but the Mautic trademark sits with the Open Source Collective and the project is community governed.

HubSpot: Is there a free plan for HubSpot Marketing Hub?

Yes, the free plan includes up to 2 users with lead generation, email sending, and success measurement capabilities at no cost with no credit card required.

Source
Mautic: What breaks most often?

Cron scheduling. If segment rebuilding and campaign triggers are not running on schedule, campaigns quietly stop sending with no alert.

HubSpot: What is the cost of additional HubSpot Credits and marketing contacts?

HubSpot Credits cost $9 per 1,000 credits when purchased annually. Additional marketing contacts beyond plan limits can be purchased separately.

Source
Mautic: Can it handle large contact lists?

Yes, but performance at several hundred thousand contacts depends on database tuning and queue configuration, which is work you must do yourself.

Share

Related pages

More on HubSpot

More on Mautic

Keep looking

Other head to heads