Some links in this article are affiliate links — if you sign up through one, WorkflowUnity may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Our verdicts are based on the verified research below, never on commissions.
The SharpSpring vs HubSpot comparison has a plot twist most older articles miss entirely: SharpSpring no longer exists as a standalone product, and what you'd actually be evaluating in 2026 is a different company's platform under a different name.
Here's what changed. SharpSpring — for years the classic “cheap HubSpot alternative” pitched hard at marketing agencies — was acquired by Constant Contact in a deal announced June 2021 at roughly $240 million, which closed that September (Constant Contact, 2021). The product now sells as Constant Contact Lead Gen & CRM.
What the acquisition actually changed
The product is still real and still sold. Lead Gen & CRM remains an all-in-one marketing automation platform — CRM, email marketing, landing pages, behavior-based tracking — and its historical sweet spot remains marketing agencies that need white-label, multi-client management. What changed is the trajectory. The “scrappy independent challenger” positioning SharpSpring traded on is gone, and community sentiment among longtime agency users has been consistent since the acquisition: the product reads as maintained rather than pushed forward, with little visible momentum compared to actively developed platforms. That's a materially different starting point than evaluating a hungry challenger — you're evaluating a portfolio product inside a larger email company.
One naming clarification, because Constant Contact now sells two very different things: Lead Gen & CRM (the former SharpSpring) is not the same product as Constant Contact's classic small-business email marketing tool. If the simpler email product is what you're actually weighing, that's the HubSpot vs Constant Contact comparison instead.
What you'd be buying instead in 2026
If the thing that attracted you to SharpSpring was agency economics — white-label, many client accounts, flat predictable cost — the platform that inherited most of that energy is GoHighLevel, and HubSpot vs GoHighLevel is the live version of this decision. If what attracted you was “full marketing automation platform, actively developed,” that points at HubSpot: Marketing Hub Professional runs $800/month with 3 Core Seats and 2,000 marketing contacts plus a $3,000 mandatory onboarding fee, verified July 2026 (HubSpot, 2026). That's real money, but it buys a platform with a large ecosystem and a visible development roadmap — the opposite of frozen.
The honest verdict
Choose Constant Contact Lead Gen & CRM — SharpSpring's successor — only if you're a marketing agency that specifically needs its white-label, multi-client automation management and you're comfortable buying a product in maintenance mode. If you have existing SharpSpring workflows, the switching cost of staying put may genuinely be lower than migrating. But if you're evaluating fresh in 2026 with no legacy to preserve, HubSpot is the more actively developed platform to build on, and the old “SharpSpring is the cheap HubSpot” framing no longer describes what's for sale.
Start with HubSpot's free tools to evaluate the modern side of this comparison; Constant Contact sells the Lead Gen & CRM product directly. Pricing for both moves — verify on the official pages before committing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does SharpSpring still exist?
Not as a standalone brand. SharpSpring was acquired by Constant Contact in 2021 (announced June, closed September, roughly $240 million) and now sells as Constant Contact Lead Gen & CRM. The platform itself — CRM, email automation, landing pages, agency white-labeling — still operates under that name.
Is Constant Contact Lead Gen & CRM the same as regular Constant Contact?
No. Constant Contact's classic product is simple small-business email marketing; Lead Gen & CRM is the former SharpSpring — a full marketing automation platform with a CRM, aimed largely at agencies. They're different products with different pricing, sold by the same company.
Should I switch from SharpSpring to HubSpot?
If your existing SharpSpring workflows still do the job, migration cost may outweigh the benefit — staying put is a legitimate answer. If you're hitting the platform's ceiling or evaluating fresh in 2026, HubSpot is the more actively developed option: Marketing Hub Professional runs $800/month plus $3,000 onboarding, verified July 2026.