If you are looking at HubSpot alternatives, start with one question before you compare features: what does it cost to leave? Andy Milligan's read on HubSpot's newest offer is that the low price is the hook and your data is the product. That is the lens to use on any CRM, including the ones you are switching to.
Andy is the founder of MMG Design and the Columbus Marketing Organization, and he has spent years running a small marketing business on a lean software stack. In this short video, recorded the day HubSpot announced a $1 CRM for one-person companies, he explains why the offer made him more skeptical, not less. This post turns that reaction into a practical way to judge your options. For more on choosing tools, browse the full library of marketing playbooks.
What HubSpot launched, and why marketers noticed
In late August 2026, HubSpot co-founder and CTO Dharmesh Shah announced YouSpot, an AI-native "solo CRM" built for one-person companies such as founders, consultants, and freelancers. According to Martech Notes, it launched at $1 a month for the first 1,000 paid seats, and Shah later confirmed it is a HubSpot project built by its HubSpot Next group. The YouSpot site says it connects to Gmail, Google Calendar, LinkedIn, X, and HubSpot, and builds a "second brain" from your contacts and conversations.
The timing mattered. A few weeks earlier, HubSpot changed its terms so customer enrichment data could be shared across accounts, with customers enrolled by default. After a wave of criticism, the company fully reversed the change by July 5, 2026, and Shah wrote, "We made a mistake and have taken steps to correct it," as CMSWire reported.
Andy's take: a $1 price is a data play
Andy calls himself a naturally skeptical person, and the price is what set him off (1:34 in the video). "Whenever someone tries to charge you $1 a month for anything it's because they want your payment information," he says. A card on file makes it far more likely you become a full paying customer later.
He sees the same pattern in HubSpot's main product. In his words, the pricing is "easy to enter and hard to leave." The free tools allow up to two users and 1,000 contacts, and Starter begins at $7 per seat per month, according to HubSpot's own pricing page. Andy's point is that the bill climbs quickly once your contacts, users, and add-ons grow, and by then your data lives inside the system.
The second half of his argument is about data. YouSpot asks you to connect your inbox, calendar, and social accounts so it can map your relationships. "These guys just want data," Andy says (5:03).
His view is that a tool which reads your whole network for a dollar is a smarter way to collect data than the opt-out terms change that caused the earlier backlash. That is his opinion, but it is a useful one to test against any vendor.
How to evaluate HubSpot alternatives without getting trapped
You do not need to agree with Andy about HubSpot to use his filter. Before you sign up for any CRM, cheap or not, check these five things:
- Exit cost. Can you export every contact, note, and deal in a standard format, on any plan, without calling sales?
- The real price at your size. Price the plan you will need in 12 months, with the users and contacts you expect, not the intro tier.
- Data permissions. Read what the tool can access once you connect email, calendar, and LinkedIn, and whether your data can be used beyond your own account.
- Default settings. Ask whether new data-sharing or AI features arrive switched on or off. HubSpot's enrichment reversal shows why this matters.
- Fit with your workflow. For marketing ops, a CRM you update every day beats a powerful one you avoid.
This checklist is also the fastest way to find the best CRM for small business needs like a solo practice or a two-person studio. The right answer is usually the simplest tool that passes all five checks.
Why this matters for Columbus marketers
Most of the marketers in our community run lean: freelancers, small agencies, and in-house teams of one. Software decisions hit those budgets hardest, and the best advice usually comes from peers who already made the switch.
Columbus Marketing Organization is a peer community for marketers, freelancers, and service providers in Columbus, Ohio, founded by Andy Milligan. Members share leads, introductions, and job opportunities, including the weekly Columbus Marketing Jobs newsletter. Tool stacks come up constantly, and Andy breaks down every subscription he pays for in his guide to the best marketing tools. If you are thinking about how AI changes your role, read his take on AI in marketing.
The bottom line on HubSpot alternatives
The best HubSpot alternatives are the ones you can leave as easily as you joined. Judge every CRM on exit cost, real price at your size, and what it does with your data, and treat a $1 offer as a question, not an answer.
Want a second opinion before you switch? Ask the people who use these tools every day at the next Columbus marketing event, or join the Columbus Marketing Organization community on Skool.
Whenever someone tries to charge you $1 a month for anything it's because they want your payment information.
Frequently asked questions
What is YouSpot from HubSpot?
YouSpot is an AI-native solo CRM for one-person companies, built by HubSpot's HubSpot Next group and announced in August 2026. It connects to Gmail, Google Calendar, LinkedIn, X, and HubSpot to map your relationships. It launched at $1 a month for the first 1,000 paid seats.
Why is Andy Milligan skeptical of a $1 CRM?
Andy believes a $1 offer exists to collect your payment information and your data. Once your card is on file and your contacts live inside the tool, you are far more likely to upgrade. He sees the same easy-to-enter, hard-to-leave pattern in HubSpot's main pricing.
What should I look for in HubSpot alternatives?
Check five things before switching: whether you can export all your data on any plan, what the plan you need in a year really costs, what data the tool can access, whether new sharing features arrive switched on, and whether it fits how you work every day.
What did HubSpot change about data enrichment in 2026?
In July 2026 HubSpot changed its terms so customer enrichment data could be shared across accounts, with customers enrolled by default. After strong customer backlash, it fully reversed the change by July 5, and co-founder Dharmesh Shah said the company made a mistake.
Read the video transcript
Kind: captions Language: en Okay, so I've done my very best to stay out of this HubSpot drama, but you know, today I just got roped in and I got a lot of thoughts to air out. So, if you're in B2B, earlier on in the summer, HubSpot had a bit of a PR crisis because they kind of unethically opted in a bunch of their existing customers to enhance data collection and they came back on it a few days later and Facebook said, "Hey, we made a mistake." And it did not do a lot of good things for them. There was, you know, a several day period there where everyone was posting, they were dragged through the mud. This video by my friend Ben City Grippy on their data enrichment is just so so good. So I highly encourage you guys to watch to kind of get up to speed here. But in terms of latest developments, as of today, August 28th, Dharmmes Shaw, the C founder and CTO at HubSpot, and of course, you know, Little [ __ ] Boy, Kip Bodner, and all the other mindless lmies that just shout everything that they're told to shout from all their media outlets, you know, without running things through a filter reposted it. Um, but in short, Dom Shaw says, "Woohoo, thrilled to announce Youbot, the AI notative solo CRM from HubSpot. Next, HubSpot. Next, TLDDR. Uspot is a CRM built for oneperson companies like founders, consultants, authors, freelancers, angel investors, creators, one-person companies. Angel investors. Angel investors are oneperson companies, guys. Yeah. It builds a second brain from your business context and remembers the things that you might otherwise miss. Intro price of $1 a month for the first 1,000 customers. 423 slots already taken. So, I just I'm a naturally skeptical person, but when I see lines like this, let me just bring this into my handy tool of choice, Mr. Excalad. But when I see something like this, you know, I just a lot of eyebrows go up for me. Um, and I only have two. So, it intro of $1 per month for the first thousand customers. Now I come from a lot of this audience is smaller marketers and we work. We're working on healthcare specifically and I am so familiar with you know Alex's offer framework creating a compelling offer. Whenever someone and I'll tell you this me to you walk in and listen up. Whenever someone tries to charge you $1 a month for anything it's because they want your payment information. They are trying to get their hands slide their hands solely up into your pocketbooks and make a much higher likelihood that you'll become a paying customer in the future. If you look at HubSpot's pricing for their main product suite, it is traditionally easy to enter and hard to weave. That's their whole product model. They want it to be super appealing at a free or very low paid rate and then once you reach a certain amount of data or contact, it instant it just jacks up so fast. So, it's free to get in at $0 a month for two users. And the moment you add on, you know, a certain number of credits, you get 500 HubSpot credits and a thousand contacts. You're already paying seven bucks a month. And the there's no gap between 7 and $800 a month. And it's not even that big of a difference between the two plans. You just get a bunch of these add-ons on top and all this AI [ __ ] that they want you to buy. But that's HubSpot's motto. And this is an even more extreme version of that because a lot of small businesses, a lot of you know oneperson businesses like angel investors apparently are building CRM and kind of vibe coding their own tools and HubSpot sees that customer return at the lower end of the market. So enterp um the AI native solo CRM built just for you. A self-building second brain for all your customer contacts if free. It just takes a minute. This is the way in. Yeah, this right here just AI swap. This whole page is AI swap. I hate the design and that's where it really pissed me off. I'm like, "Okay, you guys are an enterprise customer. You guys are an enterprise company doing millions of dollars a year. You can like invest into a landing page." Um, now we go to pricing. $1 a month. Again, let me let me get your let me get that credit card information. You know, I just I don't it's just $1. That's it. Just give me just give me a dollar. You know, you can use it for free. And in addition to that, they don't answer any of their company, their users questions on this totally vibecoded site. I guarantee you one of two things happened here. Mr. Darmsh kind of went off on a leash. And now the whole company is literally acting up to his PR campaign and saying, "Hey, we got to back our back our guy here. He's kind of going off on a whim." Or they're just like running around with chickens with their head cut off. But this is just really distasteful to me. I've never really liked HubSpot as a company. And this just kind of reinforces my existing beliefs. But let me know your guys's thoughts. You know, it's kind of piling on them a little bit admittedly with the whole enrichment drama and now something like this where they're just trying to basically get their hands in and get all your information. If look a little bit further at the post, he says you can connect Gmail, Google calendar, LinkedIn, X, Twitter, and other tools that you already use. You spot builds the context for you, who you know, what you've already talked about, what might need a follow-up, and which opportunities may deserve your attention. It can surface the relationships, follow-ups, and opportunities that matter instead of waiting for you to remember to update a record of creative task. These guys just want data, and you know, kudos to them. hiding it in a value additive appearing tool that we're saying we're only giving we're only going to charge you a dollar a month for is a much better way of saying of getting your customers data and getting new data rather than you know the subtle way that they did it before basically by opting everyone in and creating the whole PR crisis. So shout out to HubSpot, you know, doesn't surprise me. And if you're a marketer and want to transition off HubSpot, there's several other different options for you. And um yeah, it'll be interesting to track this and see where it goes.