I am not a fan of how HubSpot has recently launched its new Hubspot Pricing model for existing customers (and yes, I have let them know) but after further investigation, I don’t think anyone needs to panic that their HubSpot costs will significantly change.
Here’s why I’m not a fan of how they released the news:
1. It felt like a “but read the fine print” 1990s play which is very off-brand for HubSpot. As an engaged Partner, I completed an Academy class to learn about the new Hubspot pricing and partner Ecosystem Kick off to learn about the new pricing model. In all the oral communication about this from HubSpot, the bottom line most agencies understood was that “this pricing change will not affect existing customers.” After further review, I see there was a glossed over, vague line “others will be migrated” which no one understood (because what does that even mean?) and so it was ignored. But now I see, as the fine print says more clearly, everyone is moving away from any legacy pricing this year - so bye bye grandfathering. THIS CAUSES PANIC. However, good news, they were being more HubSpot-ty about (and less spotty) than they let on. TLDR, no one will see more than 5% price increase. And there are even more fail safes they’ve put in place to assure you of this. I’ve listed them down below.
New bottom line: They should have spent more time talking about the new pricing model for existing customers than they did.
2. HubSpot has always been a transparent company and one that engenders high trust with their users because they do the critical things right - like managing expectations. IMO the people who were put in charge of this roll-out broke away from some of those cardinal rules, like: our customers trust us, let’s be honest with them; even if we have to give some bad news, once we show them all the ways we’ll make these changes align with our users' goals - they'll get it. Instead, they fumbled the ball. Ok, we all do that sometimes, so @HubSpot, I forgive you and I’m writing this blog to help everyone else do the same.
Here’s why I don't think you need to panic on pricing increase for your HubSpot licenses
What did they mean by Existing Customers will be Migrated?
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They’re going to look at who has been actively using your HubSpot portal and make a recommendation for how many “seats” (and which kinds) you need - but not charge you for them right away. So when migration happens, you won’t have to do anything, and overnight, one day you'll see new language in your account that gives you the same number of core seats you’ve been using. That’s good news for one, because no one wants to spend time updating user permissions. Secondly, any active users (~let's assume over X number of months), will get a seat based on their most recent or trending usage. Your active users will be granted seats to allow them to continue to be active users post-migration. I think that makes sense. Here’s where it really lands: Your bill post-migration WILL NOT CHANGE at the time of post-migration - it would only change (again, by a maximum of 5% at the time of your NEXT renewal, post-migration). So at the time of migration, and at the time of your renewal, you will either just have "seats" for existing active users at the same price per your next renewal terms, or perhaps at a 5% price increase to what you were going to be paying at the time of your next renewal. That seems fair and consistent with HubSpot's brand.
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Partner seats will continue to be free. So if you have a HubSpot Solutions Partner managing your HubSpot already - you won’t pay for their core seats. Most HubSpot users are using agencies to do the majority of their marketing and automations in HubSpot, so agencies like Tangible Words can continue to provide valuable services to their clients without HubSpot Users incurring additional costs. So good news - partner usage is free. Additionally, you can bank on partner usage remaining free, long term. HubSpot wants you to use partners because agencies make sure you get more out of your HubSpot, so I can see why they have incentivized you this way in the new pricing model. We do the work, and you don't pay for us to do it inside of your HubSpot license fees. This will be a long-term commitment as HubSpot documents that their customers retention is way higher when an Agency is involved.
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AT THE TIME OF RENEWAL: HubSpot says, "Your price will stay the same at the time of migration. On your first renewal post-migration, you may see a migration-related price increase of about 5% or less. The migration-related price increase will be in addition to other factors that could result in other price increases at renewal (such as additional purchases, exceeding usage limits, or expiring discounts). You’ll have the opportunity to review any price increase that applies to your account before your renewal date."So when, after your migration, you're coming up for your first renewal, I assume HubSpot will say, "here's the number of seats we think you need, based on your usage." But don’t panic! The introduction of a 5% cap ensures that any adjustments in pricing will be gradual and manageable. As always at the time of renewal: Customers have the flexibility to adjust their licenses up or down as needed, aligning their subscription with their evolving requirements. If you have not been negotiating your renewals - you need to talk to a HubSpot agency to help you negotiate your next renewal contract properly. If you still feel the need to navigate how these changes will affect you, reach out. But otherwise, you can feel safe - it was a bad PR communication chain and HubSpot messed up like we all do from time to time. But the news is not really that bad, in fact the news is aligned with the things we have always loved and trusted about HubSpot - they just did less than usual in their expected top notch communication roll-out. #Human None of this was written in consultation with a lawyer, so you can do your own research but we feel good about the pricing changes (now). Who knows - these seat changes might even be the start of even more privacy and workflow functionality to come.
