HubSpot's own onboarding suits teams that have someone with the time and skills to build HubSpot themselves, guided by a HubSpot specialist. A HubSpot Solutions Partner suits teams that want HubSpot designed and built around their process, especially when there's a CRM migration, integrations or more than one team involved. On Professional plans, an eligible partner can have HubSpot's required onboarding fee waived, so you pay for one onboarding instead of two.
Part of our HubSpot onboarding guides.
What's the difference between HubSpot onboarding and partner onboarding?
HubSpot onboarding is a coaching programme run by HubSpot. A specialist works through a plan with you over a series of calls, and your team does most of the configuration between them. Partner onboarding is delivered by an independent HubSpot Solutions Partner, who maps your process, builds the setup with you and trains your team on it.
| HubSpot's own onboarding | HubSpot Solutions Partner | |
|---|---|---|
| Who builds HubSpot | Mostly your team, coached by HubSpot | The partner, with your team |
| Cost | Fixed fee per hub (US$1,500 to US$3,000 on Professional) | Scoped quote, typically A$8,000 to A$35,000 in Australia |
| Typical length | Around 90 days | 8 to 12 weeks for a standard onboarding |
| Process mapping | Guided questions | Workshops with your team before anything is built |
| Data migration | Guidance on importing yourself | Often included, scoped by system and history |
| Integrations | Native integrations, set up by you | Native and custom, built and tested |
| Training | Guidance on HubSpot features for your goals | Built around your roles and your own portal |
| After go-live | HubSpot's standard product support | Optional ongoing support from the same team |
When does HubSpot's own onboarding make sense?
HubSpot's onboarding makes sense when you have a confident in-house owner and a fairly standard setup. It tends to work well when:
- One team is moving onto one hub, usually Sales Hub
- Your process is close to HubSpot's defaults
- Someone on your team has several hours a week to build between calls
- You're starting from spreadsheets, with no CRM history to migrate
- Budget is tight and you're comfortable learning by doing
The fee is fixed, which makes it easy to budget. The trade-off is that the quality of the setup depends on the person doing the building.
When does a HubSpot partner make sense?
A partner makes sense when getting the setup wrong would be expensive to unpick. That's usually when:
- You're migrating from Pipedrive, Salesforce, Zoho or another CRM
- More than one team (sales, marketing, service) will work in HubSpot
- You need integrations with finance, calling or product tools
- Your process doesn't fit HubSpot's defaults, such as multiple entities or a regulated sales cycle
- Leadership needs reporting it can trust from day one
- Nobody in-house has the time to own the build
Switching HubSpot on takes an afternoon. Building it around your business takes experience. A partner brings the pattern recognition of having done it many times before.
Can you have HubSpot onboarding and a partner?
You can, but you usually don't need to pay for both. When an eligible Solutions Partner is running your implementation, HubSpot can remove its required onboarding fee from your contract. Raise this before you sign your HubSpot contract.
OTM is a HubSpot Gold Solutions Partner, and we can have HubSpot's onboarding fee waived when we run your onboarding.
Is a HubSpot partner more expensive?
A partner costs more than HubSpot's onboarding fee on paper. For a single hub set up properly, Australian partners typically quote A$8,000 to A$15,000, against HubSpot's fee of around A$2,160 to A$4,320 for one Professional hub.
The gap narrows once you count your own team's time. With HubSpot's onboarding, someone on your team does the building. With a partner, most of that time comes back to you. For a full breakdown, see what HubSpot onboarding costs in Australia.
What should you check before choosing either option?
Whichever way you go, a few checks save a lot of rework.
- Who will own HubSpot after go-live? If nobody, choose the option that leaves you with the most documentation.
- What's moving across? Migrations from another CRM are where self-led setups most often go wrong.
- How many teams will use it? Each extra team adds process decisions that need someone to facilitate them.
- What does leadership need to see? Reporting needs the right properties and stages from the start.
- How fast do you need to be live? Compare against how long HubSpot onboarding takes for your scope.
Frequently asked questions
Is HubSpot's own onboarding worth it?
HubSpot's onboarding is worth it for a small team with a confident in-house owner and a standard setup. It's less suited to migrations, multi-team rollouts or custom processes, where a partner usually saves rework.
Do I have to pay HubSpot's onboarding fee if I use a partner?
Not always. When an eligible Solutions Partner handles your implementation, HubSpot can waive its required onboarding fee. OTM can have it waived for the onboardings we run.
What does HubSpot's onboarding include?
HubSpot's onboarding gives you a specialist and a plan built around your goals, delivered over a series of calls. Your team does most of the configuration between sessions.
Can a HubSpot partner take over after HubSpot onboarding?
Yes. Partners often step in after a self-led setup to fix lifecycle stages, properties or reporting. It's usually cheaper to involve a partner before the build than after it.
How do I find a HubSpot partner in Australia?
HubSpot's Solutions Directory lists partners by location, services and reviews. Check reviews from businesses similar to yours, then work through the questions to ask a partner before you sign, starting with who will lead your project.
What we notice
The regrets we hear about most come from decisions nobody made during onboarding. Who on your team would make them if you did it yourselves?