TinyCRM vs HubSpot
A customer database that doesn't charge per seat
HubSpot starts free, but adds per-seat fees the moment you need real features. TinyCRM is $9/month for your whole team — with an NPM SDK, a unified cross-product view, and no sales-team overhead.
Pricing comparison
TinyCRM
$9/month
Flat pricing. Unlimited users. All features.
- 14-day free trial
- Unlimited team members
- NPM SDK included
HubSpot
$20–$100/user/month
Free tier available, then per-seat.
- Starter: $20/user/month
- Professional: $100/user/month
- Enterprise: $150/user/month
| Team size | TinyCRM / year | HubSpot Starter / year | HubSpot Pro / year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 user | $108 | $240 | $1,200 |
| 5 users | $108 | $1,200 | $6,000 |
| 10 users | $108 | $2,400 | $12,000 |
Three key differences
Developer-first
TinyCRM ships an NPM SDK. Two methods, zero config. HubSpot has an API but it's designed for sales ops, not server-side identify calls.
$9/month, full stop
No per-seat fees. No feature gates. No surprise invoices as your team grows. HubSpot's per-seat model penalizes growth.
Unified cross-product view
One customer record merges their activity across all your products. HubSpot tracks contacts per portal, not across your indie hacker portfolio.
Feature comparison
| Feature | TinyCRM | HubSpot |
|---|---|---|
| Flat monthly pricing | ||
| NPM SDK (identify + ping) | ||
| Unified view across multiple products | ||
| CSV import | ||
| CSV export | ||
| Custom JSONB params per customer-project | ||
| No per-seat fees | ||
| Setup in under an hour | ||
| Email marketing sequences | ||
| Ad tracking / attribution | ||
| Meeting scheduling | ||
| Sales pipeline | ||
| Free tier | ||
| Large integration marketplace |
Built for developers, not sales teams
HubSpot was built for marketing and sales operations. Its API reflects that — complex object models, OAuth flows, and a steep learning curve for anyone who just wants to track which users signed up for which product.
TinyCRM ships a first-class NPM SDK. Install it in your backend, call identify() when a user signs up, and every customer across all your products appears in a unified table — merged by email.
// Install
npm install tinycrm-sdk
// In your sign-up handler
import { TinyCRM } from "tinycrm-sdk";
const crm = new TinyCRM({
apiKey: process.env.TINYCRM_API_KEY,
});
await crm.identify({
email: user.email,
name: user.name,
status: "free",
params: { plan: "starter" },
});$9/month, no per-seat tax
HubSpot's free tier is limited to basic contact management. The moment you want automation, reporting, or sequences, you're on per-seat pricing. A small team of 5 on HubSpot Professional pays $500/month. TinyCRM is $9/month for everyone.
| Scenario | TinyCRM | HubSpot |
|---|---|---|
| Solo founder | $9/mo | Free–$20/mo |
| 2-person team | $9/mo | $40–$200/mo |
| 5-person team | $9/mo | $100–$500/mo |
| 10-person team | $9/mo | $200–$1,000/mo |
Ship your CRM in an afternoon
HubSpot setup typically takes days to weeks: portal configuration, pipeline setup, team permissions, data mapping, and CRM object customization. TinyCRM takes an afternoon.
TinyCRM setup
- 1Sign up at app.tinycrm.dev
- 2Create a project, get your API key
- 3npm install tinycrm-sdk
- 4Call identify() in your sign-up handler
- 5Done — see customers in the dashboard
Time: ~30 minutes
HubSpot setup
- 1Sign up, configure portal settings
- 2Set up pipelines and stages
- 3Configure team roles and permissions
- 4Map data properties to CRM objects
- 5Configure sequences and automation
- 6Integrate with existing tools
- 7Train team on the UI
- 8Import and clean existing data
Time: days to weeks
What is HubSpot?
HubSpot is an all-in-one CRM and marketing platform founded in 2006. It offers tools for contact management, email marketing, ad tracking, sales pipelines, meeting scheduling, and a large ecosystem of third-party integrations. HubSpot's free CRM tier is widely used by small businesses to track contacts and deals without upfront cost. As organizations grow and need features like sequences, reporting, and automation, they move to paid plans priced per seat.
HubSpot is a strong choice for companies with dedicated sales and marketing teams who need full-funnel visibility, email automation, and deep CRM customization. It is not optimized for indie hackers who need a lightweight, developer-first customer database that works across multiple independent products.
How to migrate from HubSpot to TinyCRM
Export your HubSpot contacts
In HubSpot, go to Contacts → Export. Select all properties and download as CSV. This gives you email, name, company, and any custom properties.
Import into TinyCRM
In TinyCRM, go to Import → CSV. Upload your HubSpot export and map columns: email → email, firstname + lastname → name. Custom properties map to the JSONB params field.
Install the NPM SDK
Run npm install tinycrm-sdk in your backend project. Add your API key from TinyCRM Settings → Projects.
Add identify() to your sign-up flow
Replace any HubSpot API calls in your sign-up handler with crm.identify(). New customers will appear automatically going forward.
Verify and decommission
Check the TinyCRM dashboard to confirm all contacts imported correctly. Once you're confident, cancel your HubSpot subscription.
Frequently asked questions
Is TinyCRM cheaper than HubSpot?
Yes. TinyCRM costs $9/month for your entire team. HubSpot's Starter plan is $20/user/month and Professional is $100/user/month. A 5-person team on HubSpot Professional pays $6,000/year; the same team on TinyCRM pays $108/year.
Can I import my HubSpot contacts into TinyCRM?
Yes. Export your HubSpot contacts as a CSV file, then import it into TinyCRM using the built-in CSV importer. The importer lets you map HubSpot column names to TinyCRM fields.
Does TinyCRM have an NPM package like HubSpot?
Yes. TinyCRM ships a first-class NPM SDK (tinycrm-sdk) with two methods: identify() and ping(). It works in any Node.js, Edge, or serverless environment. HubSpot has a Node client too, but it's primarily designed around their CRM objects model, not developer-first customer tracking.
What does HubSpot do better than TinyCRM?
HubSpot is a full marketing and sales suite: email marketing, ad tracking, sequences, meeting scheduling, and a large ecosystem of integrations. If you need those tools, HubSpot's free tier is hard to beat. TinyCRM focuses purely on being a unified customer database for developers who run multiple products.
Is there a free plan for TinyCRM?
TinyCRM offers a 14-day free trial with up to 100 customers — no credit card required. After the trial, it's $9/month.
Start building with TinyCRM
14-day free trial. $9/month after. No per-seat fees, ever.
npm install tinycrm-sdk
Also see: All CRM comparisons · Framework integrations