HubSpot claims to be the best WordPress alternative. But is it really the case? Let's find out.
Almost all new website builders claim that they are here to replace WordPress. Wix, Webflow, Squarespace, Drupal…all of these platforms at some point tried to overtake WordPress as the next top CMS or low-code website builder.
Still, WordPress remains the most used content management system in 2022. Modern website builders, with their sleek interface and convenient drag-and-drop editors, have a lot to offer, but they still don’t have all the add-ons, support, creative freedom, and flexibility of WordPress.
However, there is another potential WordPress alternative on the market that most people overlook – HubSpot. On their official website, they claim to be “The Best WordPress Alternative“. Is it really the case? Let’s find out!
All WordPress alternatives can be roughly divided into two categories – drag-and-drop website builders and publishing platforms. It’s important to note that there is no platform that is better than others. All of them have their strengths and weaknesses, and all of them were designed for different purposes.
HubSpot might be the right alternative for you if you are looking for Content Management System (CMS) or Web Content Management System (WCM). For a simple website, such as a portfolio or a landing page, it’s best to consider other online tools such as Weblow, Wix, or Squarespace.
WordPress is a popular open-source content management platform that has been around since 2003. Under the hood, it’s way more than just a pretty website builder – it’s a powerful system with a lot of free and paid add-ons. Thanks to those plugins, you can create virtually any type of website with WordPress – from a simple landing page to a sophisticated client portal or multi-functional online store.
It’s also an extremely flexible platform – if you are a programmer who knows HTML, CSS, and PHP, you can add a lot of custom functionality yourself. Otherwise, you can leverage plugins to add extra functionality to your website.
Or, you can hire someone who can do both for you. In either case, there is always more than one way to solve a problem in WordPress. And it’s extremely easy to find someone who knows all ins and outs of the platform!
HubSpot might be not as popular as WordPress but contrary to what some people may think, it’s not the new kid on the block. HubSpot was created in 2006, only a few years after WordPress. HubSpot is a huge, cloud-based CRM platform with a lot of moving parts.
It’s an entire ecosystem of products for businesses of various sizes. For the purposes of this article, we will mostly focus on one of their products – CMS Hub. It’s a content management software created by HubSpot for marketers, developers, businesses, and content creators.
Just like WordPress, it features dynamic content, custom themes, memberships, and more. HubSpot also has a free plan and an in-built drag-and-drop editor.
In terms of pricing, both platforms are almost the same. HubSpot, however, features a more transparent pricing model. As a SaaS product, CMS Hub has a monthly recurring cost that you can pay monthly or yearly. That price includes everything you need right out of the box, including but not limited to premium hosting, regular maintenance and upgrades, security features, SEO optimizations, and 24/7 support via chat, phone, or email.
With WordPress, it’s hard to say how much the final website is going to cost. Themes, hosting, website management, and plugins will cost extra.
| Expenses | WordPress | CMS Hub (HubSpot) |
| Core functionality | Free for the most basic plan and $45 per month when billed yearly for an eCommerce plan. (source) | From $23/month (starter pan) to $1200 a month (enterprise plan).(source) |
| Hosting | Hosting is managed separately and can cost anywhere from $10/month to $1000/month. | All three plans come with premium hosting already included in the subscription fee. |
| Add-ons and integrations | WordPress features a constantly growing library of more than 58,000 free and paid plugins. | Has over 650 apps and integrations; more than half of them come in CMS Hub out of the box. |
| Security, maintenance, and upgrades | A WordPress website requires additional plugins that will most likely cost extra. Website maintenance is done manually. | Included in the plan. |
| Total | $100+ a month | $23-$1200 per month |
WordPress is an open-source platform, which is its biggest strength and weakness. Unfortunately, ensuring that your WordPress site stays safe and secure is going to be your responsibility. It can be time-consuming and it will also cost you extra – monthly security fees range from $10 to $50 per month. CMS Hub, on the other hand, comes with basic security features out-of-the-box:
Thus, if security is your top priority, you might want to consider using proprietary software such as CMS Hub. Since HubSpot limits access to its code, it’s less vulnerable to security breaches. WordPress websites can be secure but a lot depends on what kind of plugins you use, how often you update the system, and who is taking care of your website.
| Feature | WordPress | HubSpot |
| Security | Requires additional plugins that can cost anywhere from $10 to $50 per month. | Included in all three plans. |
| Stability | Mostly depends on your hosting provider. | 99.999% uptime, 24/7 customer support. |
When it comes to capabilities, both WordPress and HubSpot are extremely powerful tools. Both platforms have all you need for content creation, SEO optimization, and blogging. The key difference between them is that HubSpot is an all-in-one platform with a lot of built-in features while WordPress is like a digital playground full of digital building blocks.
In order to create an amazing website, you’ll need to gather different plugins, integrations, and solutions together, all while making sure that these separate pieces of a puzzle can seemingly work together. It’s also worth mentioning that more plugins means more costs, efforts, and headaches, especially when it comes to maintenance, updates, and security concerns.
| Feature | WordPress | CMS Hub |
| Content creation, blogging | Was originally created as a blogging platform. Features a convenient editor and all the tools you need to create effective blog posts. A sleek drag-and-drop interface, such as Elementor, will cost extra. | Comes with a lot of premium themes, blogging and landing page tools, and a drag-and-drop editor. |
| SEO optimization | There is no native SEO functionality but a lot of additional plugins (both free and paid) that will help you to optimize your content for search from the get-go. | Features a built-in SEO recommendations tool and on-page SEO tools built into website pages. |
| Analytics & Reports | Doesn’t have a lot of built-in analytics tools, but it does have a number of plugins that can help. By default, you can see some basic information like page views but for more detailed information and deep analysis, you will need to install a third-party product. | All analytics tools needed to measure the performance of the website are included in all three plans. |
| Speed | Can be fast but depends on what kind of plugins you use, who is your hosting provider, etc. | You will get a fast and optimized website right out of the box. |
A lot depends on what kind of website you are trying to build, but WordPress websites can get pretty complicated fast. CMS Hub, on the other hand, takes the pain out of managing your website, so you can focus on other important things such as content creation or marketing.
With HubSpot, you also get all the tools needed to create a website while with WordPress, you need to put the pieces together yourself. Because all plugins are created by different companies, it requires time and effort to ensure that all of them can work together.
As a WordPress user, you will need to take care of your website regularly and update those plugins when needed. This might make it hard to onboard new users or find the right person to maintain and improve your custom website.
Since all WordPress websites are different, maintaining them can be a lot of work. A lot of third-party plugins also make it harder to scale and make changes to an existing website.
All in all, it’s way easier to maintain a HubSpot website. CMS Hub is also a part of a bigger ecosystem but the entire product was built by one company. As a result, you get a unified feel, a predictable user interface, and all tools already included in your monthly subscription.
| Feature | WordPress | HubSpot |
| Easy to get started | + | + |
| Easy to maintain | – | + |
| Easy to learn | + | + |
| Easy to use | Largely depends on what kind of website you are building. | Largely depends on what kind of website you are building. |
As you can see, there is a lot to think about when you consider which platform to choose. Both WordPress and CMS Hub have their pros and cons. If you are looking for a more custom solution, WordPress is still one of the best options on the market.
If instead, you want to focus on other important aspects of your business and forget about website maintenance, then HubSpot with its various product offerings might be exactly what you are looking for.
Whether you ultimately choose WordPress or HubSpot to base your website on, GetDevDone can help you make your web pages, secure, fast, and visually attractive.
We offer a broad array of HubSpot development services, such as building custom templates with HubL and HTML and unique themes for HubSpot CMS.
We also have unrivaled expertise in WordPress development. With 16+ years of industry experience and thousands of successfully completed WP projects, we know everything about the world’s most popular CMS.
Contact us for any WordPress development task, from creating a custom theme or tweaking your current one to crafting plugins and optimizing Core Web Vitals.
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