Kommo CRM vs HubSpot: Which Is Right for Your UK Business?

Choosing the right CRM is one of the most important decisions a growing business can make. Two platforms that come up frequently for UK SMEs are Kommo and HubSpot — but they take fundamentally different approaches to customer relationship management.

Here's an honest comparison to help you decide which one fits your business.

The Core Difference

HubSpot is a marketing-first CRM. It started as an inbound marketing platform and expanded into sales, service, and operations. Its strength is content marketing, email automation, landing pages, and lead nurturing through the marketing funnel.

Kommo is a messaging-first CRM. It was built from the ground up around real-time conversations — WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, and live chat. Its strength is capturing and converting leads who communicate through messaging channels.

Neither is universally "better." The right choice depends entirely on how your business generates and converts leads.

Messaging and Communication

Kommo wins here. Kommo has native, built-in integrations with WhatsApp Business API, Instagram Direct, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, and more. Every message from every channel lands in a single unified inbox, attached to the lead's profile. You can reply to a WhatsApp message and an Instagram DM from the same screen.

HubSpot offers some messaging integrations, but they're typically add-ons or require third-party connectors. WhatsApp integration is available but not as deeply embedded as in Kommo. HubSpot's communication strength is email — it has excellent email tracking, sequences, and templates.

Choose Kommo if: Your leads contact you primarily through WhatsApp, Instagram, or other messaging apps.Choose HubSpot if: Your leads come through email, website forms, and content downloads.

Marketing Capabilities

HubSpot wins here. HubSpot's marketing hub is industry-leading. It includes blog hosting, SEO tools, email marketing, social media scheduling, landing page builders, A/B testing, and sophisticated lead scoring. If your business relies on content marketing and inbound lead generation, HubSpot is purpose-built for that.

Kommo doesn't try to be a marketing platform. It focuses on what happens after a lead makes contact — managing the conversation, qualifying the opportunity, and moving the deal through your pipeline.

Choose Kommo if: You generate leads through word-of-mouth, referrals, social media DMs, and direct messaging.Choose HubSpot if: You generate leads through blog content, SEO, email campaigns, and paid advertising.

Ease of Use

Kommo is simpler. Kommo's interface is clean and focused. Most teams can be up and running within a day. The pipeline view is intuitive, the mobile app works well, and there's less configuration overhead.

HubSpot is powerful but complex. The free tier is genuinely useful, but as you move into paid plans and more advanced features, the learning curve steepens. Configuration, custom properties, workflows, and reporting can require significant setup time — and often a dedicated admin.

Pricing

HubSpot's free tier is generous — it includes basic CRM, email marketing, forms, and live chat. But costs escalate quickly once you need advanced features. The Marketing Hub Professional plan starts at around $800/month, and the Sales Hub Professional is around $450/month.

Kommo is more affordable at scale. Plans start from $15/user/month for the Base plan. The Advanced plan (which includes chatbots, pipeline automation, and the full messaging suite) is $25/user/month. For a team of five, you're looking at around $125/month versus potentially thousands with HubSpot's paid tiers.

Automation

Both platforms offer automation, but in different areas:

• Kommo's Salesbot automates messaging conversations — it can greet new leads on WhatsApp, ask qualifying questions, book appointments, and route conversations to the right team member. This is unique to Kommo and extremely powerful for messaging-heavy businesses

• HubSpot's Workflows automate marketing and sales processes — email drip campaigns, lead scoring updates, deal stage transitions, task creation, and internal notifications. HubSpot workflows are more versatile but require more setup

Which Should You Choose?

Here's a simple decision framework:

Choose Kommo if:

• Your customers reach out via WhatsApp, Instagram, or Messenger

• Speed of response is critical to your sales process

• You want a CRM your team can adopt in days, not weeks

• You're a small team (under 20 people) that needs affordable, focused tooling

• You're in estate agency, professional services, education, or any messaging-heavy industry

Choose HubSpot if:

• You run content marketing, SEO, and email campaigns as your primary lead generation strategy

• You need advanced marketing automation and lead scoring

• You have a dedicated marketing team or marketing operations person

• You're ready to invest in a platform you'll grow into over years

Can You Use Both?

Yes. Some businesses use HubSpot for marketing (blog, email, landing pages) and Kommo for sales conversations (WhatsApp, Instagram, pipeline management). The two platforms can be connected through integrations like Zapier or Make, so leads generated through HubSpot's marketing funnel can flow into Kommo for conversational sales follow-up.

How Maze Consultancy Can Help

At Maze Consultancy, we're certified Kommo partners and experienced with both platforms. We help UK businesses choose the right CRM for their specific sales process — and implement it properly from day one.

If you're unsure which platform is right for you, we offer a free CRM consultation where we'll review your current setup, understand how your team sells, and recommend the best approach.

Book your free consultation with Maze Consultancy today and get expert advice on choosing the right CRM for your business.