Hello, this is Matsubara, CRM Evangelist.

"I started using HubSpot because I heard it was free, but before I knew it, I was paying 5 yen a month."

I've heard this story from more small and medium-sized businesses than I expected.

HubSpot's free plan is real. It's not a lie. You can really use opportunity pipeline management, email tracking, and basic customer management for free.

However, there is a clear difference between companies that continue to offer free services and those that gradually become paid services. If you implement a CRM without understanding this difference, you'll end up in a situation where you thought it was free, but before you know it, you're paying for an expensive CRM.

This article will honestly explain the structure of HubSpot's freemium strategy, then outline the criteria for determining whether HubSpot is suitable for a particular company or not, and how to differentiate its use from EMOROCO CRM Lite.

Why HubSpot can offer it for "free"—the freemium design philosophy

To understand HubSpot, you need to know their business model.

HubSpot was originally founded as an inbound marketing company (attracting customers through content SEO, social media, and email marketing).
We offer CRM for free as an entry point to encourage people to use our marketing tools.

In other words, for HubSpot, the free CRM is a "lose now, gain later" strategy. They want users to try the CRM for free, and then when they feel they want to further strengthen their marketing, they'll buy the paid Marketing Hub or Sales Hub. This is the flow they've designed.

This isn't a "bad strategy." For companies looking to strengthen their marketing efforts, HubSpot is actually one of the best options. The problem lies in the mismatch: "We thought a free CRM would be sufficient, but we ended up having to pay for it."

Things you can't do in the free version—5 times when you'll hit a wall

HubSpot's free plan has a limitation that you're bound to encounter as you use it.

Obstacle ①: Email automation is not possible.

If you want to automatically send "thank you for your inquiry" emails or "follow-up emails" to customers, this is not possible with the free version. Email automation (sequencing function) requires a paid version of Sales Hub (starting at ¥5,400 per month).

Many companies realize they "thought they could do this" within the first one or two months after implementation.

Wall ②: Report customization is limited.

The free version of the report is limited, and a paid version is required to create custom reports tailored to your company's operations. Even basic sales reports, such as "How many deals did each salesperson close this month?", may require the paid version in some cases.

Obstacle #3: Inability to automate sales negotiations and automatically generate tasks.

Workflow functionality (automated processing based on conditions) is only available in the paid version. Features like "automatically generating tasks for assigned personnel when inquiries are received" or "sending reminders if no action is taken for a certain period" are all paid features.

These workflow features are available as standard in EMOROCO CRM Lite.

Wall ④: Reaching the data limit

The free version allows you to store up to 1 million contact records, but there are limits on the number of emails you can send, the number of form submissions, and meeting scheduling. If you start using it actively, you may reach the limits in six months to a year.

Wall 5: Lack of support

Support for the free version is limited to the community forum; email, chat, and phone support are all exclusive to the paid version. If you encounter problems with the settings, you won't be able to contact official support.

A typical scenario where something goes from "free" to "paid."

This outlines typical patterns for transitioning from the free version of HubSpot to a paid subscription.

Months 1-3: I feel it's "convenient."

Even the free version allows you to use the sales pipeline, customer management, and email tracking. My impression is that it's "much better than Excel." I don't see any problems at this stage.

Months 4-6: The desire to "do more" emerges.

Requests arose such as, "I want to automatically send follow-up emails when an inquiry comes in," and "I want to see the conversion rate for each salesperson." Upon investigation, it was discovered that these were paid features. Thinking, "It's cheap enough for just using it a little," I subscribed to Sales Hub's Starter plan (starting at 5,400 yen per month).

Months 7-12: The number of hubs increases.

If sales can use it, then the conversation naturally turns to "we want to strengthen our marketing as well." We add a Marketing Hub. The support team wants to use it. We consider a Service Hub.

One year later: Monthly income of 30,000 to 50,000 yen.

Before you know it, you've subscribed to multiple hubs, and your monthly costs are 5 to 10 times what you expected. This creates a gap between the feeling of "I started with it for free" and the actual costs.

HubSpot and EMOROCO CRM Lite have "different roles"—like the upstream and downstream of a river.

When comparing HubSpot and EMOROCO CRM Lite, the question "which is better?" is incorrect. Their design philosophies are fundamentally different.

HubSpot is a powerful tool for "upstream"—designing how to attract new customers. It offers robust integration with SEO, email marketing, and marketing automation (MA).

EMOROCO CRM Lite is a powerful tool for "downstream"—designing how to deepen relationships with existing customers. It is centered on the CRM 4.0 philosophy of "recording emotional changes and staying close to the customer's story."

"Companies that are a good fit for HubSpot" "Companies that are a good fit for EMOROCO CRM Lite"

To be honest, HubSpot is sometimes the best option.

Companies that are a good fit for HubSpot

• I want to strengthen my customer acquisition through content SEO, blogs, and social media.
• I want to use marketing automation (MA) features such as email newsletters and drip email campaigns.
• I want to automatically determine the priority of converting leads into sales opportunities using lead scoring.
• We are also considering global expansion with English-language content.
• We have an IT person who can set up and manage HubSpot.

Companies that are a good fit for EMOROCO CRM Lite

• We want to deepen relationships with existing customers and increase repeat business and referrals.
• I want to improve the emotional management and handover design for sales representatives.
• We want to customize our CRM to match the workflow of each industry.
• I want to streamline my field sales and route sales using GIS maps.
• We want to achieve enterprise-level design while keeping monthly costs down.
• We do not want to send data to an external cloud (self-hosting supported).

There is also the option of using both.

Using both HubSpot and EMOROCO for customer acquisition and existing customer management is also a reasonable approach. Using the external connector feature, you can even design a system to automatically integrate leads acquired in HubSpot with EMOROCO. There's no need to exclusively choose one tool over the other.

Things to check before considering switching carriers

If you are considering switching from HubSpot to EMOROCO CRM Lite, please check the following:

Confirmation ①: Which HubSpot features are you currently using?

If you are using paid features (email automation, custom reports, workflows), check if EMOROCO CRM Lite has equivalent or better functionality. Workflows, dashboards, and LINE notifications can be handled with EMOROCO CRM Lite's standard features.

Confirmation ②: Can the accumulated data be migrated?

You can migrate your data by exporting it as a CSV file from HubSpot and importing it into EMOROCO CRM Lite as an Excel file. Contact, company, and opportunity data can be migrated using standard methods.

Confirmation ③: Do you want to continue using it for free or do you want to optimize costs?

If the free version of HubSpot is sufficient for you, there's no need to rush into switching. However, if the cost of the paid version is piling up, you want Japanese language support, or you want to specialize in managing existing customers, then it's worth considering switching.

Summary—The cost design hidden behind the word "free"

HubSpot's free version isn't a lie; there are companies that actually use it for free indefinitely. However, HubSpot's design philosophy is a freemium strategy where the more you use it, the more paid features you'll need. Understanding this before implementing it, or implementing it without knowing, will significantly impact your costs after a year.

To summarize this article, here are three points.

• HubSpot is a tool for "upstream" use: It excels at acquiring new customers and marketing automation (MA). However, there are design limitations to deepening relationships with existing customers.
• The free version's limitations are inevitable: Email automation, workflows, and custom reports will become paid features once they become necessary.
• Choose the right tool for your purpose: Choosing a solution based on whether it "suits your company's specific needs," rather than simply choosing one that's "free," will determine the cost and retention rate a year from now.

EMOROCO CRM Lite costs ¥1,500 per user per month, has no initial setup fee, and offers a 30-day free trial. It's a CRM specifically designed for "nurturing relationships with existing customers."

[The first step you can take starting today] Try it out with a 30-day free trial, alongside your current HubSpot setup. We recommend experiencing the differences in "downstream" design in your actual work before making a decision.

Digitalization and AI Implementation Subsidy 2026 Compatible Tool Number: DL07-0022934
Product Info:https://www.emoroco.com/

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