HubSpot CRMvsStrikingly

Overview

HubSpot CRM and Strikingly occupy different layers of a small business technology stack. HubSpot CRM is a contact and deal management system. Strikingly is a website builder for single-page sites. Evaluating them as direct alternatives misframes the buying decision — they solve different problems and are more useful in sequence than as a single choice.

The comparison surfaces because solopreneurs and freelancers often research CRM and website tools in the same session when starting a business. The practical question is sequencing: which do you need first, and what does each tool actually do?

For most new businesses, the website comes first. A public online presence — a landing page, a portfolio, a service page — is necessary before leads arrive. The CRM becomes relevant once leads exist and manual follow-up tracking in a spreadsheet or email inbox starts creating gaps. That moment varies by business, but it rarely arrives before the website does.

Strikingly is built around speed and simplicity. Its drag-and-drop builder lets a single-page site go live in minutes using templates designed for portfolios, product pages, event announcements, and small business landing pages. Its free plan publishes on a strikingly.com subdomain. Paid plans add custom domains, multi-page support, product stores, and expanded storage. Strikingly does not include a CRM, does not track contact history, and does not manage deal pipelines.

HubSpot CRM manages what happens after a visitor becomes a contact. Its free tier covers unlimited users, up to one million contacts, deal pipelines, task management, email logging, meeting scheduling, and live chat. It does not replace a website. What it does is create a record for every contact the business acquires, accumulate their interaction history over time, and give teams a pipeline to manage follow-up and deals. A HubSpot tracking script can be installed on any website, and HubSpot forms can be embedded on a Strikingly page so that form submissions become contact records in the CRM automatically.

Feature Comparison

Area	HubSpot CRM	Strikingly
Primary job	Contact and deal management with pipeline tracking	Single-page website builder
Website creation	None — CRM only	Core product: drag-and-drop single-page editor
Contact database	Unlimited contacts, full history, deal stages	Not included
Free tier	Unlimited users, 1M contacts, full CRM layer	Free plan on strikingly.com subdomain
Integration path	Tracking script and form embed connect to any site	Connects to CRMs via third-party integrations
Best fit	Businesses managing leads, deals, and customer follow-up	Businesses needing a fast, simple online presence

HubSpot CRM's contact record is its core value. Every form submission, email open, call log, and deal stage change attaches to the same contact profile. Over time that history tells the story of how a relationship developed — who reached out first, which emails got responses, what deal stage the contact is in. That is what makes CRMs useful for follow-up and pipeline management, and it is the layer Strikingly does not provide.

Strikingly's value is publication speed. For businesses that need a clean, professional single-page presence without hiring a developer or learning a complex builder, Strikingly is one of the fastest paths from idea to published site. Its single-page model is a constraint for some businesses but a feature for others: portfolios, product launch pages, event registrations, and simple service pages often work better as focused single-page experiences.

The practical combination is a Strikingly site with a HubSpot form embedded. The visitor lands on the Strikingly page, completes the form, and the submission appears in HubSpot CRM as a new contact ready for follow-up. Both tools run simultaneously at no cost in the early stage of a business.

Pricing Comparison

Strikingly's free plan publishes on a strikingly.com subdomain with basic features. Paid plans add custom domains, more pages, ecommerce, and expanded storage. Pricing changes over time — verify current plan prices on Strikingly's official pricing page before purchasing. General range for business plans is single to low double digits per month on annual billing.

HubSpot CRM's free tier is one of the more complete free plans in the CRM market: unlimited users and contacts, deal pipeline management, email logging, task tracking, meeting scheduling, and live chat. Starter at $15/seat/month billed yearly removes email limits and adds sequences. Professional at $90/seat/month covers full marketing and sales automation.

For a new business with limited budget: Strikingly free and HubSpot CRM free can run together at no monthly cost. That zero-cost combination covers a working web presence and a complete contact management layer until the business grows enough to need paid features in either tool.

Best For

Choose HubSpot CRM if:

• You have leads, customers, or prospects to manage and need pipeline visibility.
• You want email logging, follow-up tasks, and deal tracking connected to the same contact record.
• Multiple team members should share contact history.
• You plan to add email marketing or service tools connected to the same contact database.

Choose Strikingly if:

• You need a fast, clean web presence without technical setup.
• A single-page format fits your current business — portfolio, landing page, simple service site.
• You want to publish quickly at low or zero monthly cost.
• Website simplicity and publish speed matter more than multi-page structure.

These tools are most effective together: Strikingly handles the public-facing web presence and HubSpot CRM handles the contact and follow-up layer behind it. Choosing one in place of the other only applies if the business genuinely only needs one of those layers.

Verdict

Winner: Tie

HubSpot CRM and Strikingly are sequential tools, not competing ones. For most small businesses, Strikingly or another website builder comes first, and HubSpot CRM gets added when contacts accumulate and follow-up management becomes a bottleneck. Neither tool replaces the other.

For Stackforge readers: start with Strikingly free if you need a simple online presence today. Add HubSpot CRM free when the first leads or customers arrive. Both have free tiers, so there is little cost reason to delay either one past the point when it becomes useful.