Last updated: June 22, 2026
Why Companies Switch from Salesforce to HubSpot
The three most common reasons companies migrate from Salesforce to HubSpot are: total cost of ownership (Salesforce licensing and administration costs are significantly higher), ease of adoption (HubSpot's intuitive interface drives higher actual usage), and built-in marketing tools (HubSpot's native CRM-marketing integration eliminates third-party tool costs).
The Migration Process: Key Phases
Phase 1 — Data Audit: Export all Salesforce objects and analyze data quality. Identify duplicates, incomplete records, and deprecated custom fields. Clean before you migrate.
Phase 2 — Field Mapping: Map every Salesforce field to its HubSpot equivalent. Custom fields need to be created in HubSpot before migration. Picklist values require normalization.
Phase 3 — Test Migration: Run a sample migration (10% of records) to validate mapping accuracy and identify edge cases before full migration.
Phase 4 — Full Migration and Go-Live: Execute full data migration, validate record counts and key data fields, reconfigure integrations, and train users on HubSpot workflows.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
Do not migrate dirty data — clean in Salesforce before exporting. Do not migrate every historical record indiscriminately — archive inactive records older than three years separately. Do not cut over on a Monday — go live mid-week to allow support buffer time.
Frequently Asked Questions
What data can be migrated from Salesforce to HubSpot?
All core CRM objects can be migrated: contacts, companies, deals/opportunities, activities (emails, calls, tasks), custom objects, and associated files. Custom fields, picklist values, and relationship structures require careful mapping before migration to ensure data integrity in HubSpot.
What are the biggest risks in a Salesforce-to-HubSpot migration?
The biggest risks are data duplication (multiple contact records for the same person), data loss during object mapping (Salesforce and HubSpot use different data models), and disrupted sales workflows during cutover. A thorough pre-migration audit and a parallel-run period significantly reduce these risks.
How long does a Salesforce-to-HubSpot migration typically take?
A standard migration with 50,000 to 500,000 records takes four to eight weeks from kickoff to go-live. Larger migrations with complex custom objects or integrations may take three to six months. PixelMechanics handles the full migration lifecycle including data audit, mapping, testing, and go-live support.
