Migrating from HubSpot to Salesforce is a daunting task. It’s like changing the engine of the airplane midflight. Your business has already scaled; your business operations can’t afford downtime – yet when you outgrow HubSpot, you HAVE to bite the bitter pill. However, a staggering 30-70% of all CRM implementations fail, often due to poor data handling and planning.
This checklist is your strategic roadmap for HubSpot to Salesforce migration which does not lead to failure and chaos.
Why Consider Migrating from HubSpot to Salesforce?
HubSpot is intuitive – there’s no denying that. However, HubSpot is much like iOS, as a Reddit user aptly puts it. It builds everything for the ecosystem, which is good for an SMB but not so good for enterprises looking for custom integrations with non-HubSpot tools.
→ As your business scales, it needs custom workflows. It can’t really live in a single ecosystem.
→ Think of HubSpot like a launch pad – and a damn good one. You can grow your business smoothly – until you hit a performance ceiling. That’s when you need HubSpot to Salesforce migration.
→ The transition is typically driven by the need for robust analytics, advanced security, and seamless integration with a vast ecosystem of enterprise tools. Experience 34% ROI in terms of immediate productivity gains.
In short, HubSpot won’t be able to keep up with your business; Salesforce can – for as long as your business grows. The ceiling is high.
When Should You Decide To Migrate Migrate From Hubspot To Salesforce
Now, if you map the “why” with “when”, here are some of the potential scenarios when you should consider migrating –
- When you really feel that you have outgrown Hubspot. The customizations would feel inadequate, your workflow would get choked – that’s when you can be sure that it’s time for a more robust and customization-friendly CRM
- Till a certain limit in terms of your growth, Hubspot is fine. But when you cross that limit, when you need more than just the Hubspot ecosystem – that’s when you need to upgrade. And as we said, this need for a bigger system is typically driven by a hunger for robust analytics, advanced security and seamless integration with more tools.
- When you need rigorous process enforcement and a more “hands-free” way of automation – you need to upgrade from HubSpot. With SalesForce, you will see a 67% ROI in terms of improvement in data driven sales.
- When you have plans for your business to scale rapidly in the next few years, it’s always preferable to start migrating before the actual scaling happens so that your systems are prepared to handle scaling sales program.
| Role | Pain Points that Signal It’s Time to Migrate |
|---|---|
| Sales Leader | Inability to enforce complex sales processes, reporting lacks depth for forecasting, manual workarounds needed for quotes and approvals. |
| Marketing Leader | Need for deeper lead scoring and attribution modeling, lack of advanced analytics for ROI. |
| Operations/IT | Constant need for custom workarounds and integrations, security and permission models are insufficient, data silos are forming. |
| Finance/Execs | Cannot get a unified, real-time view of the entire customer journey and business health, forecasting is inaccurate. |
Now that you have a clear idea about the reasons behind the upgrade, let’s explore some best practices.
HubSpot to Salesforce Migration Checklist
Migrating from HubSpot to Salesforce is a decision that shouldn’t be taken in haste. First, make sure that answer to the question – “Do I really need to migrate?” – is a resounding yes, not a meek “maybe”. Here is a thorough checklist that you MUST keep in mind before and while migrating from Salesforce to HubSpot:
HubSpot to Salesforce data migration best practices:
Plan Your Lead-to-Customer Journey Structure
HubSpot treats everyone as “Contacts”. Salesforce, on the other hand, differentiates between Leads (prospects) and Contacts (customers). This isn’t just semantics—it changes your entire sales process. The smart move? Map out exactly when a Lead becomes a Contact in your workflow. Define conversion criteria for each record type and map HubSpot lifecycle to Salesforce Lead/Contact/Account.
Migrate Your Engagement History Strategically
Context matters. Your leads/contact data doesn’t just entail customer names, companies, phone numbers, etc. It also entails emails sent, calls, and meeting logs. You need to migrate them too. Else, post-migration, you will be fumbling while engaging with your leads and customers. Emails in HubSpot become Email Message records, calls become Tasks, and meetings become Events. The trick is preserving the original timestamps so your sales history remains accurate and chronological, not backdated to migration day.
Don’t Orphan The Attachments
Files or attachments are often orphaned during HubSpot to Salesforce migration. They get migrated – but they lose parent associations. HubSpot glues them directly to the contact card; Salesforce splits them into Content Document and Content Document Link tables. If you simply export/import, the files land in the org but lose their relationships
→ Export HubSpot file list with parent object IDs (contact, company, deal).
→ Create a custom text field on each Salesforce object to store the old HubSpot ID.
→ Use Excel/VLOOKUP to pair HubSpot file-parent ID with new Salesforce record ID.
→ Upload files via Salesforce Files API; capture returned Content Document IDs.
→ Insert Content Document Link rows: pair each Document ID with its new Salesforce record ID.
Create Your Integration Safety Net
Did you notice what we proposed in the previous tip? Don’t throw your old HubSpot ID into the dustbin. Store the original HubSpot ID in a custom Salesforce field. This becomes your Rosetta Stone, letting APPSeCONNECT sync data bidirectionally if needed and helping you troubleshoot any data mismatches post-migration without guesswork.
These best practices look manageable. Ignore them and your migration hopes might come crashing down.
Options to Migrate from HubSpot to Salesforce
There are plenty of ways to achieve the HubSpot to Salesforce transition. All of them come with pros and cons.
Manual CSV Import Export –
If the enterprise data is not that huge, you can try manual data migration. The control remains entirely in your hands. However, issues like – spreadsheet drift, broken links, days of VLOOKUP, no rollback, etc., can frustrate you, especially if the data is huge.
Salesforce Data Loader –
Another relatively ‘easy’ tool. You can move high-volume data. And you don’t have to spend a dime if you buy a Salesforce license. But there is limited support for HubSpot metadata. Hence, you have to resort to manual data mapping.
Freemium Cloud Wizards
This method can be a hit or a miss. You can start right away, but beware of the black-box nature of the tools. The process isn’t entirely transparent.
iPaaS Wins The HubSpot to Salesforce Migration Challenge
iPaaS Wins The HubSpot to Salesforce Migration Challenge
- One canvas, both systems: HubSpot and Salesforce connectors ship pre-loaded with every standard + custom object. This means no manual schema hunting.
- Bulk yesterday, delta today: shift the 3-year backlog at 50k records/minute or more, then flip to real-time sync for new leads. That’s a speed none of the other methods can match.
- Attachment insurance: native microservice re-parents every file, proposal, and contract into the correct Salesforce ContentDocumentLink – zero orphaned PDFs.
- Rollback button: full pre-image logging means a single click restores any slice of data if mapping logic goes rogue—migration insurance policy built in.
- Cost certainty: flat annual licence, unlimited volume.
- Errors don’t get shipped; they are monitored with possible correction measures: Failed rows are quarantined with the exact HubSpot ID + error reason.
Introducing APPSeCONNECT - The Best-In-Class iPaaS For Hubspot to Salesforce Migration
iPaaS isn’t a new technology. However, like every piece of tech, it evolves. APPSeCONNECT is the result of the evolution of traditional iPaaS. The cloud-based integration solution effectively neutralizes all the stumbling blocks in your path to migrate away from HubSpot to SF.
- Zero-Code Bulk & Delta Toggle: APPSeCONNECT automatically flips from million-record historic migration to minute-by-minute sync the moment cutover starts, eliminating downtime windows.
- Built-In File Relationship Engine: Every HubSpot attachment lands in Salesforce linked to the exact Contact, Deal, or Custom Object, erasing the #1 post-migration help desk ticket: “missing proposal.”
- Pre-built Connectors + Visual Workflow Builder: APPSeCONNECT comes with pre-built, pre-configured HubSpot → Salesforce connectors. Expect most fields to be already mapped. However, if you had a pretty complex workflow in HubSpot, you can recreate the mappings and the workflows in Salesforce using Visual Workflow Builder. No manual data transfer needed, no expensive developer needed. All you need is business logic.
Case Study – What Happens When You Migrate From Hubspot To Salesforce
Scenario 1: How a Marketing Manager Finally Got a Good Night’s Sleep
ABC Corp’s marketing team was shackled by HubSpot’s basic analytics. Post-migration to Salesforce, they leveraged its native AI for precise lead scoring and multi-touch attribution. This eliminated guesswork, increased marketing-sourced revenue by 35% within two quarters, and provided the deep-funnel insights leadership demanded for strategic planning. What was the role of APPSeCONNECt to orchestrate initial data transformation – HubSpot and Salesforce have different workflows. So you need an iPaaS that can orchestrate the connection between the two. This made sure that the operations kept running smoothly during the migration. (Note: This is a fictitious case study)
Scenario 2: As XYZ Co. scaled, their CTO faced critical data silos and security gaps from HubSpot’s limited API. Migrating to Salesforce provided a unified, secure data model with robust enterprise integrations. This eliminated manual syncs, tightened security, and created a scalable architecture ready for their next phase of global growth.
Try APPSeCONNECT For Free
Here’s a feature by feature Salesforce migration tools comparison:
| Feature | APPSeCONNECT | Workato | MuleSoft | Celigo | Zapier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low-Code Integration | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Prebuilt HubSpot–Salesforce Connector | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Automated Error Handling | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
Post-Migration Checks
HubSpot to Salesforce migration is a complex workflow. After migration, you must check if there are any chokepoints or failures:
| Checkpoint | Pass/Fail Test | How to Verify |
|---|---|---|
| Record reconciliation | HubSpot CSV totals = Salesforce objects (Contacts, Companies, Deals) | Run COUNT() in both systems, reconcile deltas |
| Data fidelity spot-check | 50 random rows: email, phone, deal value, owner match exactly | Export SF report, VLOOKUP against HubSpot export |
| Attachment presence | Every migrated contact/company list has ≥ 1 file in Salesforce Files | Open 20 records per object; note missing documents |
| Lead-to-Contact conversion | Qualified Leads convert without losing source, campaign, score | Test 10 conversions; validate fields copied to Account/Contact |
| Automation integrity | Workflows fire (assignment, alerts) on new record creation | Create test lead, check queue + email log |
HubSpot To Salesforce Migration Best Practices
- Freeze data entry 24 h before export to prevent last-second drift.
- Run a 1% sandbox migration first, then fix mappings before bulk load.
- Keep a HubSpot ID custom field in Salesforce for instant backtrace and rollback.
- Document every field transformation so future admins know why a value looks different.
- Schedule migration over a weekend and have power users on call Monday to catch glitches early.
In the end…
Migrating CRM from HubSpot to Salesforce is a decision that shouldn’t be taken in haste. Plan thoroughly, educate your workforce – it will be a cultural change altogether. Your employees will now have to adhere to the best practices promoted by Salesforce. That can feel alien initially. APPSeCONNECT iPaaS solution takes the pain of migration with prebuilt connectors and workflow design tools. Walk in with a roadmap, walk out with a single source of truth – let APPSeCONNECT carry the data, so your team can carry the culture.
Frequently Asked Questions
Hubspot can scale with you for a long time. But when you realize that you need more than just a simple HubSpot ecosystem, when you need to connect with a diverse array of third-party ERP tools, shipping platforms, ecommerce storefronts, analytics tools, that’s when you can be sure that you need to migrate.
The iPaaS method is known for its industry-friendly connectors. You can use prebuilt connectors to connect HubSpot and Salesforce. That means no more manual data mapping or schema building. You don’t need to depend on developers. It supports bulk historic data transfer at over 50,000 records per minute and real-time syncing, ensuring zero downtime. iPaaS guarantees data integrity by linking attachments correctly and offers a rollback feature to restore data if errors occur. With flat licensing costs and unlimited volume, it is cost-effective and scalable. Business users can manage workflows with no technical skills, making iPaaS a best-in-class migration solution from HubSpot to Salesforce
Depends on your use case. For a fairly straightforward and manageable CRM use-case, HubSpot is more than enough. Only when you need customizations and a wider range of analytics tools, third-party ERP, inventory management, shipping and other tools that’s when you are better off with Salesforce.
