HubSpot is a marketing and sales CRM, built for any industry. Its strength is demand: campaigns, landing pages, website tracking and lead nurture, with generous free tools for small teams. Its website also lists Breeze AI agents, a projects object, and quotes and invoices in Revenue Hub.
What it doesn't ship is the install: crew scheduling, permit and PTO tracking, solar design and a field app your crews fill in offline. Payaca is built for solar install businesses, with the CRM, the project, the permit, the crew schedule and the invoice on one record. Here's how they compare once a customer says yes.
The short answer
Keep HubSpot if marketing is the constraint. Move to Payaca when the constraint is everything after a customer says yes.
- Payaca is best for install businesses whose bottleneck is delivery: crew scheduling, permit tracking, getting field evidence off site.
- HubSpot is best for businesses whose bottleneck is demand, wanting marketing automation, content and lead nurture in one platform.
- Payaca publishes its pricing: Growth, the standard plan for established install businesses, is $1,724/month. Current plans and eligibility are on the pricing page. HubSpot publishes per-seat tiers for each hub, with marketing contacts and AI credits on top.
Looking at this yourself?
We'll show you your own jobs in Payaca, side by side with how you run them in HubSpot today. Request a demo
Feature comparison
| Feature | Payaca | HubSpot |
|---|---|---|
| Primary purpose | CRM, project management and field service for clean energy install businesses | Marketing, sales and service platform for any industry |
| Industry focus | Built for solar, battery storage, heat pumps and EV chargers | General-purpose: works for any B2B or B2C business |
| Permit tracking | Permits, inspections, PTO and interconnection tracked on every project | No permit features; you'd build it with custom properties |
| Design tool integration | Glow (limited release), or import from OpenSolar | No solar design built in; third-party marketplace apps connect OpenSolar |
| Job management | Multi-stage install projects with map-based crew scheduling | Projects object with pipelines and Gantt view, built for general delivery work |
| Field team mobile app | Offline-first field app with job forms for your crews | Mobile CRM app for reps, read-only offline; dispatch needs a marketplace app |
| Marketing automation | Automated emails and SMS from job events, not a marketing suite | Full marketing suite with campaigns, landing pages and AI content agents |
| Quoting & proposals | Multi-option solar proposals with e-signatures, priced from the design | Quotes, CPQ and e-signature in Revenue Hub, built for product and subscription sales |
| Invoicing | Invoicing and online payments, tied to the job | Invoices and HubSpot payments (card, ACH) in Revenue Hub |
| AI | Agent Dave answers from your data, builds automations and drafts documents | Breeze AI agents for marketing, sales and service, managed in Agent Hub |
Primary purpose
CRM, project management and field service for clean energy install businesses
Marketing, sales and service platform for any industry
Industry focus
Built for solar, battery storage, heat pumps and EV chargers
General-purpose: works for any B2B or B2C business
Permit tracking
Permits, inspections, PTO and interconnection tracked on every project
No permit features; you'd build it with custom properties
Design tool integration
Glow (limited release), or import from OpenSolar
No solar design built in; third-party marketplace apps connect OpenSolar
Job management
Multi-stage install projects with map-based crew scheduling
Projects object with pipelines and Gantt view, built for general delivery work
Field team mobile app
Offline-first field app with job forms for your crews
Mobile CRM app for reps, read-only offline; dispatch needs a marketplace app
Marketing automation
Automated emails and SMS from job events, not a marketing suite
Full marketing suite with campaigns, landing pages and AI content agents
Quoting & proposals
Multi-option solar proposals with e-signatures, priced from the design
Quotes, CPQ and e-signature in Revenue Hub, built for product and subscription sales
Invoicing
Invoicing and online payments, tied to the job
Invoices and HubSpot payments (card, ACH) in Revenue Hub
AI
Agent Dave answers from your data, builds automations and drafts documents
Breeze AI agents for marketing, sales and service, managed in Agent Hub
See it in Payaca
The real product, on our demo accounts.
Compliance & documentation
Track permits, PTO and incentive records on every job. More on Compliance & documentation
Operations & scheduling
Schedule your field team on a map and track every job. More on Operations & scheduling
The whole job in 100 seconds
Which is right for you?
Choose Payaca if
- You run a solar or clean energy install business
- You need operations and field team tools
- You need permits, inspections and PTO tracked on every job
- You want one system for the whole business
Consider HubSpot if
- Marketing automation is your priority
- You don't do installations, just sales and leads
- You already have other tools for operations
- You want both: HubSpot for marketing, passing leads to Payaca for operations
Questions
Can I use HubSpot to run a solar install business?
You can use HubSpot for lead capture, marketing and sales. Its website also lists a projects object and Revenue Hub for basic delivery tracking, quotes and invoices. What it doesn't ship is the install side: crew scheduling, permit and PTO tracking, solar design and a field app your crews can fill in offline. Solar companies on HubSpot usually add marketplace apps or custom properties to fill those gaps.
What does HubSpot do well?
HubSpot excels at marketing automation, email campaigns, landing pages and tracking website visitors, and its website lists Breeze AI agents for content, prospecting and customer service. The free tools are generous for small teams. If marketing is your constraint, HubSpot is strong. It wasn't designed for running install operations.
Should I use HubSpot for marketing and Payaca for operations?
This can work well. Use HubSpot to generate leads, then pass them to Payaca through the open API, webhooks or Zapier. Payaca handles everything from there: proposals, jobs, permits, invoicing.
Are HubSpot's free tools enough for a small solar company?
HubSpot's free tools cover contact management, basic sales and ticketing for up to two users. Paid editions add more automation and are priced per seat. Either way you'd still need crew scheduling, permit tracking and field tools from somewhere else. Payaca puts those in one platform.
How much does HubSpot cost for a full solution?
HubSpot publishes per-seat pricing for each hub, from free tools up to Enterprise, and AI agents draw on HubSpot Credits. Workflows need a Professional or Enterprise edition. You'd still need separate tools for crews, permits and field work, so compare total cost, not just the CRM subscription.
Can I migrate from HubSpot to Payaca?
Yes. Growth onboarding includes data migration, so we can bring over your contacts, companies and deals from HubSpot. Request a demo to talk through your migration.
Competitor details are based on their public information as of October 29, 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.