What does each one do?
HubSpot sells a customer platform made of hubs. Sales Hub is its sales CRM. The $0 tier covers up to 2 users and 1,000 contacts [2]. Sales Hub Starter lists up to 15 pipelines, 50 workflows and 500 calling minutes a month; Professional raises that to 100 pipelines and 300 workflows, with sequences [1][2].
Torchrunner is one app for solo operators and small teams who do client work. Leads, contacts, companies and engagements sit on one record with the inbox (unlimited Gmail and Outlook accounts, plus Slack, WhatsApp, SMS, LinkedIn and Telegram), a business phone line, calendar and booking pages, projects and tasks, documents and notes, and your own books.
Archie and nine specialists do the work across those modules. Runners are automations that start on a real event and log every step. Anything that leaves the business, moves money or deletes data waits for a person's yes unless you choose otherwise.
Where do they overlap?
Both keep contacts, companies and a deal pipeline, log email against the contact, and automate follow-ups. Both include calling: HubSpot Starter lists 500 calling minutes [1], and Torchrunner includes a business phone line with calling, texting and an auto-attendant.
The difference is scope. HubSpot goes deep on sales and marketing for teams that have those roles. Torchrunner covers the whole practice, including delivery, documents and invoicing, on the client's record.
What does Torchrunner replace, and what does it connect to?
For a solo operator or small team, the CRM plus the shared inbox, phone, scheduling and project tools that usually sit around it.
Gmail and Microsoft through their official APIs, your own Stripe account for invoicing, your clients' QuickBooks Online, and your own AI (Claude, Codex, Cursor, Perplexity or Gemini) on the same records. Torchrunner does not list a HubSpot connection today.
How does pricing compare?
A worked example from the figures above: three people on Sales Hub Professional cost $270 a month billed annually, plus the $1,500 onboarding fee. Three seats on Torchrunner with one engagement cost $199 + 2 x $79 = $357 a month, with the inbox, phone, projects and books in that price.
| HubSpot Sales Hub [1][2] | Torchrunner | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | Starter: $20 per seat per month regular price. A limited-time offer for new customers shows $7 a seat billed annually or $10 billed monthly. | $199 a month, 1 seat and 1 engagement included |
| Next step up | Professional: $90 per seat per month billed annually, $100 billed monthly, plus a required $1,500 one-time onboarding fee | One plan. Extra engagement $99 a month, extra seat $79 a month |
| $0 option | Up to 2 users and 1,000 contacts | Viewers and client portal users are $0 |
| What the price covers | Sales Hub, the sales CRM. This table does not cover HubSpot's other hubs. | CRM, inbox, phone line, calendar and booking pages, projects, documents, your own books, Archie and Runners |
| Billing | Annual or monthly | Month to month |
| How to start | Sign up at hubspot.com | By application at torchrunner.ai/apply |
Who should pick which?
You have a sales or marketing team, you need HubSpot's marketing tools, or your company already runs on HubSpot. Its pipelines, sequences and reporting are built for that work.
You are a solo operator or small team doing client work, and the CRM is one of many tools you open every day. You want email, calls, projects, documents and invoices on the client's record, with an AI that drafts the follow-up and waits for your yes.
Switching: what moves over?
Contacts, companies and deals move over during setup, and once your Gmail or Outlook accounts are connected, email lands on the matching contact.
Implementation, including setup and data migration, is done by AtPace, our implementation partner, and priced by AtPace. Once you are in, your data stays yours: export your records as a ZIP at any time, or schedule backups to your own SharePoint, OneDrive, Google Drive or Dropbox.
Questions
Is Torchrunner a HubSpot alternative?
For solo operators and small teams, yes: it covers the CRM and the inbox, phone, projects, documents and books around it. For a dedicated sales or marketing team that relies on HubSpot's marketing hub, HubSpot is the better fit.
How does Torchrunner's price compare with HubSpot's?
HubSpot Sales Hub Starter is $20 per seat per month at regular price, and Professional is $90 per seat per month billed annually plus a $1,500 onboarding fee. Torchrunner is $199 a month with 1 seat and 1 engagement, $79 per extra seat and $99 per extra engagement, month to month.
Does Torchrunner connect to HubSpot?
Torchrunner does not list a HubSpot connection today, so most people move their records over during setup rather than run both.
Does Torchrunner have a $0 plan like HubSpot?
No. Torchrunner is one paid plan. Viewers and client portal users are $0, and access is by application.
Sources, checked October 25, 2026
Every HubSpot price, limit and feature above comes from HubSpot's own pages, opened on October 25, 2026. Vendors change prices often; check the source before you buy. Where a page did not say, we left the fact out.
- ›1. HubSpot Sales Hub Starter: https://www.hubspot.com/products/crm/starter
- ›2. HubSpot Sales Hub pricing: https://www.hubspot.com/pricing/sales
- ›Torchrunner prices: https://torchrunner.ai/pricing
HubSpot is a trademark of HubSpot, Inc.. Other product names belong to their owners. Torchrunner is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by HubSpot.
- ›Torchrunner vs your whole stack: the eleven-tool stack, tool by tool
- ›Platform: every module, and Archie and the nine specialists
- ›Pricing: one plan, month to month, with worked examples
- ›Request access: access is by application