CRM Comparison

HubSpot vs Zendesk Sell (2026) — Plus What to Do Before the August 2027 Sunset

Zendesk Sell is being retired on August 31, 2027. Here's how it compares to HubSpot Sales Hub, why Zendesk picked Pipedrive as the official migration partner, and how to think about the move in 2026.

HubSpot CRM

All-in-one CRM with marketing, sales, and service tools. Generous free tier, massive ecosystem.

Pricing Free plan, paid from $20/mo

Our rating 4.5/5

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Zendesk Sell

Dedicated sales CRM from Zendesk with pipeline management, built-in calling, and native integration with Zendesk Support. Designed for sales teams that also want visibility into customer support history.

Pricing From $19/user/mo (Team); $55/user/mo (Growth); $115/user/mo (Professional)

Our rating 4.1/5

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TL;DR

zendesk-sell">Zendesk Sell is retiring on August 31, 2027. If you're a current customer, the migration question is more urgent than the comparison question.
HubSpot Sales Hub is the broadest alternative — full CRM plus marketing, service, and CMS — and the right pick if you want one platform across the funnel.
Pipedrive is Zendesk's named migration partner and the leanest like-for-like swap.
Close, Copper, or Attio fit specific motions (outbound calling, Google Workspace, AI-native) better than HubSpot for some teams.

The Sell sunset, briefly

Zendesk announced in 2025 that it would retire Sell to focus exclusively on customer service. Key dates:

August 31, 2027 — Sell is shut off. Full access continues until this date.
Post-2027 — all Sell customer data is deleted per Zendesk's data deletion policy. This is permanent.
Now through mid-2027 — Zendesk is supporting customers with migration tooling, primarily routing them to Pipedrive (the named migration partner) but also Copper, HubSpot, and Salesforce.

If you're reading this as a Sell customer, the question to answer in 2026 isn't "should I migrate?" — it's "to what?"

HubSpot Sales Hub vs Zendesk Sell — feature-level

Pricing. Sell: $19 (Team), $55 (Growth), $115 (Professional). No seat minimum. HubSpot Sales Hub: $20 (Starter), $100 (Professional, 5-seat min), $150 (Enterprise, 10-seat min) plus $1,500 onboarding at Pro+. For a 3-seat team, Sell wins on raw cost. For a 25-seat team using marketing + sales, HubSpot's bundle math is more competitive.

Calling. Sell ships Sell Voice on all plans — included calling and texting, no add-on. HubSpot's calling is included in Sales Hub but with per-month minute caps that scale by tier; heavy callers buy through Aircall or HubSpot's higher tiers.

Forecasting and reporting. Both ship deal-stage forecasting on mid-tier plans. HubSpot's reporting library is broader and more customizable; Sell's is tighter and easier to set up.

Ecosystem. HubSpot has 1,500+ marketplace integrations, a public app marketplace, and a global hiring pool of admins. Sell integrates natively with Zendesk Support but has a much smaller ecosystem.

Marketing and service. HubSpot offers Marketing Hub (email, landing pages, forms, ads) and Service Hub (tickets, knowledge base, customer portal) as separate but tightly integrated products. Sell has no marketing layer. For service, Sell pairs with Zendesk Support — but Zendesk Support and HubSpot Service Hub are themselves direct competitors.

What Zendesk Sell teams should evaluate in 2026

Are we using Zendesk Support too? If yes, the sales-service unification was probably the main value. Look at HubSpot's Sales + Service combo, Salesforce Sales + Service Cloud, or staying on Zendesk Support + migrating the sales side to Pipedrive (Zendesk's recommended partner) — the latter preserves the integration story.
Do we need marketing automation? If yes, HubSpot is the strongest bundled story. If you already have Customer.io or Marketo, the marketing argument disappears and a leaner CRM (Pipedrive, Close, Attio) is better value.
What's our sales motion? High-volume outbound calling → Close. Relationship-led B2B → Attio or Folk. Pipeline-driven inside sales → Pipedrive or HubSpot. SMB with mixed needs → HubSpot.
What's our migration tolerance? Custom fields, automations, integrations, and rep training all need rebuilding. Budget 4–8 weeks for a 25-seat team. Start the migration project no later than Q1 2027.

Who should pick what (in a post-Sell world)

You're on Zendesk Support and want a sales add-on you don't have to think about → Pipedrive. Official migration partner, native integration, leaner footprint than HubSpot.
You want one platform across marketing, sales, and service → HubSpot. Broadest bundle.
High-activity outbound team that lived in Sell Voice → Close. Calling is the centerpiece.
Google Workspace-native team that liked Sell's mobile app → Copper or Attio.
Enterprise on Sell Professional with complex permissions and territory management → Salesforce Sales Cloud.

Bottom line

The HubSpot vs Zendesk Sell decision in 2026 is really a migration decision. Sell isn't getting feature investment; it's getting wound down. HubSpot is the broadest, most future-proof alternative for teams that want the full GTM stack in one place. Pipedrive is the leanest like-for-like replacement and the path of least resistance per Zendesk's own recommendation. Don't wait until 2027 to decide — the data deletion is permanent and the migration work is real.

Try them yourself

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Frequently asked questions

Is Zendesk Sell going away?

Yes. Zendesk officially announced that Zendesk Sell will be retired on August 31, 2027. Existing customers have full access until then. After that date, all Sell data will be deleted per Zendesk's data deletion policy. If you're on Sell today, you have until mid-2027 to migrate.

What is Zendesk recommending for Sell customers?

Zendesk has named Pipedrive as the official migration partner, with native migration tooling that imports contacts, companies, deals, and activity history. HubSpot Sales Hub, Salesforce, Close, and Copper are also common destinations depending on team size and motion.

HubSpot vs Zendesk Sell — which is better?

For 2026, both are functional CRMs. HubSpot Sales Hub is broader (also covers marketing, service, CMS) and has a much larger ecosystem; Zendesk Sell is leaner and integrates natively with Zendesk Support. With Sell's retirement announced, HubSpot is the more future-proof pick unless you're locked into the Zendesk Support ecosystem and want a leaner sales add-on (in which case Pipedrive or Close fit better).

Is HubSpot more expensive than Zendesk Sell?

Generally yes on a per-seat basis. Zendesk Sell runs $19–$115/user/mo with no seat minimum. HubSpot Sales Hub Starter is $20/user/mo, Professional is $100/user/mo with a 5-seat minimum, and Enterprise is $150/user/mo with a 10-seat minimum. HubSpot also charges a $1,500 onboarding fee at Professional+.

Can I move from Zendesk Sell to HubSpot before 2027?

Yes. HubSpot ships a Zendesk Sell migration importer (contacts, companies, deals, notes, custom fields). Budget 2–6 weeks of ops work for a 25-seat team to remap custom fields, rebuild automations, and retrain reps. Start the migration in 2026 if you also need to redesign reporting or marketing workflows.