HubSpot's free CRM is excellent — but the marketing tools that matter start around $890/mo plus a $3,000 onboarding fee, and the whole thing is built for B2B teams. If you're a local business, Viva gives you a free, AI-native all-in-one, with an AI receptionist and AI-search visibility HubSpot doesn't offer.
| Viva | HubSpot | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free forever AI add-ons $99–$199/mo | Free CRM · Marketing Pro ~$890/mo + ~$3k onboarding* |
| Built for | Local & service businesses | B2B marketing & sales teams |
| Priced by | Free · flat AI add-ons | Seats + contacts |
| Free CRM | Yes | Yes |
| Website, booking & email — free | Yes | Paid tiers |
| AI receptionist (answers your phone) | $99/mo | No |
| Reviews & reputation | Yes | Via integrations |
| Get found on AI search (ChatGPT, etc.) | Free audit | No |
| Setup | Concierge — works day one | Onboarding fee + implementation |
| Done-for-you (someone runs it) | AI Marketing Agency · $199/mo | Hire a partner agency |
HubSpot is one of the best marketing platforms ever built, and its free CRM is genuinely excellent. But it was designed for B2B marketing and sales teams: lead scoring, nurture sequences, attribution reporting, sales pipelines a team of reps works out of. The free CRM is the front door; the tools that move the needle live in Professional — which starts around $890/mo plus a roughly $3,000 onboarding fee, priced per seat and per contact.
A plumber, a clinic, or a salon doesn't need most of that — and shouldn't pay for it. Viva is built for the local business itself: everything set up for you, working on day one, and the AI doing the parts a busy owner never gets to.
HubSpot has plenty of AI for marketers. What it doesn't do is answer your phone or tell you whether AI engines recommend you. Viva's AI receptionist picks up 24/7, AI website chat replies instantly, and a free AI-visibility audit checks ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Google AI — then shows you how to fix it.
HubSpot's cost climbs with seats and contacts, and Professional adds an onboarding fee on top. Viva's core tools are free at any size. Add the AI receptionist for $99/mo, or have the AI Marketing Agency run everything for $199/mo — no per-seat math, no implementation invoice.
Fair is fair: if you're a B2B company with a marketing or sales team, HubSpot is hard to beat. Deep marketing automation, lead scoring and attribution, a CRM your reps genuinely live in, and an ecosystem of integrations — if you have the budget and someone to run it, it earns its price.
But if you're a local or service business that wants results without hiring an operator or paying an enterprise bill, most of HubSpot is aimed at someone else. That's where Viva fits.
For a local or service business, yes. HubSpot is built for B2B marketing and sales teams; its free CRM is excellent, but the marketing tools that matter start around $890/mo plus a $3,000 onboarding fee. Viva gives you a free, AI-native all-in-one — website, booking, inbox, CRM, email, reviews, and an AI receptionist — designed for the local business itself.
As of July 2026, HubSpot's CRM is free for unlimited users. Marketing Hub Starter is about $15–$20 per seat/month; Marketing Hub Professional starts around $890/month (3 seats) plus a one-time onboarding fee of roughly $3,000, and pricing scales with seats and contacts. Check hubspot.com for current pricing.
Yes. Viva's marketing tools — website, booking, unified inbox, CRM, reviews and more — are free forever. You only pay for AI-enhanced features: the AI receptionist ($99/mo) or the done-for-you AI Marketing Agency ($199/mo). HubSpot offers a free CRM, but its marketing features are paid.
Yes. Viva includes an AI receptionist that answers your phone, and a free AI-visibility audit that checks whether ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Google AI recommend your business. HubSpot offers AI features for marketers but does not answer your phone or provide AI-search visibility.
No seats to count, no onboarding invoice. Start free, or run the AI audit first to see exactly what to fix. Pay only for AI-enhanced features.
Start free Want to see your AI-search score first? Run the free AI audit