HubSpot alternative: Stack vs HubSpot for small Australian businesses
Choose HubSpot if you want marketing, sales and service tools that scale to a larger team, starting from a free CRM. Choose Stack if you're a small client-based business that wants your inbox, pipeline, client records and client portals in one place, with an AI assistant included in the price.
HubSpot is one of the best-known CRMs in the world, and plenty of small businesses start on its free plan. If you're comparing it with Stack, here's what each one does, where each falls short, and who each suits. We make Stack, so read it with that in mind. Every claim about HubSpot comes from its own published pricing and product pages.
What HubSpot does well
HubSpot covers a lot of ground. Its platform spans marketing, sales, customer service, content, data and payments, and its free CRM is a useful starting point. The paid Starter plan adds email marketing, a website and landing page builder, deal pipeline automation, payments, ticketing, AI tools and access to more than 2,000 app integrations.
If you want marketing automation, a website and your CRM in one place, and you expect a sales or marketing team to grow around it, HubSpot is built to scale with you.
Where HubSpot may not fit
- The free plan has limits. It covers two users and 1,000 contacts, shows HubSpot branding on emails, forms and meeting links, and comes with community support only.
- Costs grow as you use more. Paid plans are priced per seat. HubSpot says your bill can increase as you add seats, buy more marketing contacts or use more HubSpot Credits, which power its AI features.
- Bigger plans come with onboarding. HubSpot's Professional and Enterprise plans include required onboarding.
- Client portals sit on a higher tier. A customer portal is part of Service Hub Professional, not the free plan or Starter.
- Much of it is built for marketing and sales teams. A small studio running client projects may only use a small part of what it pays for.
What Stack does
Stack is a workspace for Australian businesses that run on client work, from solo designers and consultants to studios of around fifteen people. It focuses on the day-to-day of client work rather than marketing.
- Inbox, calendar and tasks together. Connect Gmail or Microsoft 365 and your mail, calendar and tasks sync both ways. Email and SMS sit in one threaded inbox, with the client's record beside every conversation.
- A sales pipeline. Every enquiry on a board with a clear next step and an owner. Won deals hand straight over to client management.
- Client management. One record for each client, with the people, the work, the files and every conversation, plus onboarding templates and checklists you build once and reuse.
- Client portals on every plan. Each client gets a private page for progress, documents, messages and requests. They sign in from an emailed link, so there's no new account to create.
- A booking page. Clients book themselves into your real calendar availability.
- Penny, your AI assistant. Penny works from your inbox, calendar and tasks. She writes daily briefs and first drafts of replies, and suggests the next step. You approve her drafts before they're sent, and Penny is included in the price.
What Stack doesn't do yet
Stack doesn't do marketing emails, landing pages or websites. It doesn't send quotes or invoices, take payments or connect to accounting software. If marketing automation is central to how you win work, HubSpot will cover more.
Stack is also in public beta. It's young and changing quickly, and you're working directly with the Melbourne team who build it.
Side by side
Free plan
HubSpot: a free CRM for up to two users and 1,000 contacts.
Stack: no free plan, but a 14-day free trial with no credit card.
How pricing works
HubSpot: per seat, with marketing contacts and HubSpot Credits added as you grow.
Stack: Pro Workspace for one person, or Team Workspace covering five users in one plan, with extra users available.
Marketing tools
HubSpot: email marketing, forms, landing pages and a website builder.
Stack: not available.
Sales pipeline
HubSpot: deal pipelines with automation on Starter.
Stack: a pipeline board that hands won deals straight to client management.
Email, calendar and SMS
HubSpot: email sync on Starter.
Stack: two-way sync with Gmail or Microsoft 365, with SMS in the same inbox.
Client portal
HubSpot: on Service Hub Professional.
Stack: on every plan, with an emailed sign-in link instead of a client account.
AI assistant
HubSpot: Breeze Assistant and AI agents, which use HubSpot Credits (500 a month on Starter).
Stack: Penny, included in the price, with her drafts waiting for your approval.
Quotes and payments
HubSpot: payments on
Starter. Stack: not available.
Where it's made
HubSpot: headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with an Asia Pacific office in Sydney.
Stack: Australian-owned, built in Melbourne and priced in Australian dollars.
Pricing
HubSpot's free CRM costs nothing. Paid plans are priced per seat and shown in US dollars on HubSpot's main site, often with introductory discounts, so check HubSpot's pricing page for current rates.
Stack Pro Workspace, for one person, is A$49 a month. Team Workspace covers five users, and you can add more. Founding offer: the first 100 subscribers pay from A$15 a month for their first 12 months, until 31 October 2026.
Every Stack plan starts with a 14-day free trial, no credit card required. If you don't continue, your workspace becomes read-only and your data is kept. Cancel any time, with no lock-in contract.
Moving across from HubSpot
You don't have to switch everything in one go. Connect your email and calendar, import your contacts from a CSV or vCard file, and run Stack alongside HubSpot during the trial. If you're moving a team, email hello@thinkswift.au and we'll help you plan it.
So which one?
If you want marketing automation, a website and a CRM that can scale with a growing sales team, choose HubSpot. If you're a small business that runs on client work and wants your inbox, pipeline, clients and portals working together, try Stack free for 14 days.