Big Bear CRM vs HubSpot for Australian tradies
HubSpot's per-seat pricing sounds reasonable at one user. At five users it costs $225 a month, and that's before you unlock the features you actually need.
What you actually pay
HubSpot Sales Hub Starter is $45 AUD per user per month. That number compounds fast.
Note: HubSpot's pricing changes regularly. Verify the current rate at hubspot.com/pricing before making a decision.
HubSpot Sales Hub Starter
Per-seat pricing scales against you.
Big Bear CRM
Flat rate. Same price whether you add a PA, an apprentice, or a bookkeeper.
Feature by feature
Where HubSpot has something Big Bear does not, it is marked honestly. This comparison is against HubSpot Sales Hub Starter, not HubSpot's Pro or Enterprise tiers.
| Feature | Big Bear CRM | HubSpot Sales Hub Starter |
|---|---|---|
| Contacts and companies | ✓ | ✓ |
| Deals and pipeline (kanban and list view) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Quote builder with PDF export | ✓ | ✓ (basic templates) |
| Invoices and billing | ✓ | ✓ (US only, limited AU support) |
| Public lead-capture forms | ✓ | ✓ |
| AI lead briefs (pre-call research) | ✓ (Anthropic API, included) | ✗ (requires AI add-on, extra cost) |
| ABN auto-lookup | ✓ (Australian Business Register) | ✗ (no AU-specific integrations) |
| Email integration | ✓ | ✓ |
| SMS integration | ✓ | ✗ (paid SMS add-on) |
| Calendar integration | ✓ | ✓ |
| Two-factor authentication | ✓ | ✓ |
| Field-level encryption (BSB, account, API tokens) | ✓ | ✗ |
| Sub-processor list published | ✓ | ✓ |
| Custom fields | ✓ | ✓ |
| Workflow automation | ✗ (planned) | ✓ (basic on Starter, advanced on Pro) |
| Per-seat pricing | ✗ (flat rate, not per seat) | ✓ ($45/user/mo — the problem) |
| Hosted in Australia | ✗ | ✗ |
When each one makes sense
Choose Big Bear CRM if:
- You run a trade or service business with a small team (1 to 15 people)
- You are tired of paying per seat and watching the bill grow as your team does
- You want a CRM built around Australian workflows: ABN lookup, AUD, Aussie English
- You want flat pricing with every feature included from day one
- You are a solo operator or one-person agency who does not need enterprise automation
- You want to understand exactly where your data goes and who processes it
Choose HubSpot if:
- You run an enterprise sales team of 50 or more people where per-seat costs amortise
- You need deep workflow automation beyond basic pipeline stages
- You run multi-region operations with Salesforce or HubSpot already embedded in other systems
- You rely on HubSpot's marketing hub, CMS, or service hub and need them tightly integrated
- You need an ecosystem of thousands of third-party integrations that expect HubSpot as the source of truth
Flat rate. 14-day free trial. No card required.
Start with the Starter plan at $49/mo for your whole team, or talk to Brandon first if you want to see the CRM before committing.
Big Bear CRM is the property of Big Bear Marketing. Hosted access requires a paid subscription after the 14-day free trial. By starting a trial you agree to the Terms of Service.