HubSpot → Pipedrive
Move HubSpot companies, contacts, and deals into Pipedrive organizations, people, and deals. Marketing email and tickets can stay in HubSpot. A second import of the same spreadsheet is how duplicates get created.
Should you make this move?
Both platforms have a case. Compare what you gain with what you give up before scheduling the cutover.
HubSpot
- CRM, marketing, sales, service, and content tools share one approachable data model
- Structured ownership, status, and workflow views improve operational visibility
- Advanced features become expensive and can lock processes into HubSpot-specific objects
- Custom fields, automations, history, and reporting are difficult to reproduce exactly
Pipedrive
- A sales-first pipeline and activity view that reps open every day
- Structured ownership, status, and workflow views improve operational visibility
- Marketing automation, custom objects, and deep cross-team reporting are thinner than a full CRM suite
- Custom fields, automations, history, and reporting are difficult to reproduce exactly
Pipedrive: A sales-first pipeline and activity view that reps open every day. This removes a major source-side concern: Advanced features become expensive and can lock processes into HubSpot-specific objects.
What you lose: CRM, marketing, sales, service, and content tools share one approachable data model. What you inherit: Marketing automation, custom objects, and deep cross-team reporting are thinner than a full CRM suite.
Jump to a section
Know the shape of the move.
This timeline assumes
- Sales is moving to Pipedrive. Marketing can keep HubSpot, which is what Monterail did.
- The site already documents HubSpot → Salesforce and Pipedrive → HubSpot.
- You export HubSpot with record ids, email, and company domain so a rerun can match.
- Pipedrive custom fields exist before the first load.
- HubSpot deals stop being edited once Pipedrive is the sales system of record.
What survives the move.
“Partial” and “manual” are not footnotes. They are work that must be scheduled and verified.
| Item | Outcome | Impact | What happens | Mitigation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Companies | partial | critical | HubSpot companies become Pipedrive organizations. Dedupely's case study describes a HubSpot-to-Pipedrive move where repeated imports grew organizations from about 26,000 to about 64,000. | Import once, store the Pipedrive id next to the HubSpot record id, and never reimport the same file as new rows. |
| Contacts | partial | critical | Contacts become people. Email is the practical match key. A contact with only a secondary email is easy to duplicate. | Export the primary email. Drop rows you do not want sales to call. |
| Deals | partial | critical | Deals need a Pipedrive pipeline and stage. HubSpot pipelines do not appear in Pipedrive until you create them. | Create one pipeline per sales motion. Map stages before the load, including closed lost. |
| Associations | partial | critical | HubSpot associations export as ids. Pipedrive links a person and an organization on the deal. Extra associations need a rule. | Choose the primary contact and the primary organization. List the extras as notes if you still need them. |
| Marketing properties | lost | medium | Lifecycle stage, email subscription, and ad history are HubSpot marketing data. Pipedrive is the sales tool in this playbook. | Leave marketing contacts and email sends in HubSpot if that team is staying. |
| Tickets and conversations | lost | medium | Service tickets do not become Pipedrive deals unless you force them to. | Keep support in HubSpot or move it with a separate support playbook. |
| Activities | manual | high | Calls, meetings, and tasks export from HubSpot as their own objects. Pipedrive activities are a separate import or API write. | Load open activities only, after the deal ids exist. |
| Workflows | lost | high | HubSpot workflows do not become Pipedrive automations. | List the workflows sales still triggers. Rebuild those and leave the rest. |
| Owners | manual | critical | HubSpot owner ids are not Pipedrive user ids. The user has to exist first. | Invite the sales users. Map owner email to Pipedrive user id. |
| Custom objects | manual | high | HubSpot custom objects have no Pipedrive equivalent unless you flatten them into fields or notes. | Write a disposition for each custom object before export. |
| Files | partial | medium | Attachments need their own copy. A CRM import of names and amounts does not move the PDF on the deal. | Export files you must keep and attach them after the deal exists. |
| Duplicate reruns | manual | critical | Dedupely says the first spreadsheet import missed the expected shape, the file was imported again, and a migration tool imported it once more. Each copy held different columns. | Fix the file and upsert by id. Do not stack full imports. |
Where each thing goes.
| Source | Destination | Method | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Company record id | Organization, stored beside a custom HubSpot id | transform | Keep the id for the delta. |
| Company | Organization | transform | Name and domain. |
| Contact email | Person | transform | Primary email only. |
| Deal | Deal | transform | Pipeline and stage must already exist. |
| Deal stage | Pipedrive stage | manual | Map lost and won too. |
| Primary association | Person and organization on the deal | transform | Pick one of each. |
| Open task | Activity | manual | After the deal id exists. |
| Owner email | Pipedrive user | manual | Invite users first. |
| Workflow | No destination | unsupported | Rebuild the few you still need. |
| Marketing email | No destination | unsupported | Leave it in HubSpot if marketing stays. |
Make the move recoverable.
Create the source-of-truth backup
Keep HubSpot record ids so a bad Pipedrive import can be matched instead of repeated.
- Export companies, contacts, and deals with record ids, email, domain, stage, and owner.
- Export open activities.
- Save the stage map.
- Export a Pipedrive empty-state snapshot after fields exist and before the first row lands.
- Hash the files.
Proof to capture: The HubSpot id is present on every row, and the pre-import Pipedrive counts are written down.
Single import
Stop the duplicate stacking Dedupely described.
- Create custom fields for HubSpot record ids.
- Load a 50-row sample.
- If the sample is wrong, delete that sample. Do not import the full file on top.
Proof to capture: Save the input, output, command or tool settings, warnings, and final item counts.
Stage map
Put open deals in a pipeline reps already agreed to.
- Create stages before the load.
- Map HubSpot closed-won and closed-lost explicitly.
- Reject rows whose stage is not in the map.
Proof to capture: Save the input, output, command or tool settings, warnings, and final item counts.
The things most likely to hurt.
These are operating limits. Treat every “Stop if” condition as a blocked migration, not a suggestion.
The file is imported twice
The first import looks wrong, so someone uploads it again.
- Consequence
- Organizations and people multiply. Dedupely's example went from about 26,000 organizations to about 64,000.
- Mitigation
- Delete the sample or match on HubSpot id. Do not stack imports.
Stop if: Organization count is higher than the source file.
Marketing and sales split without a rule
Both tools can still create contacts.
- Consequence
- New leads exist in only one system.
- Mitigation
- Write who creates a sales deal, and where a marketing contact stays.
Stop if: Both teams are creating the same people.
Owners do not exist in Pipedrive
The deal file names a HubSpot owner who was never invited.
- Consequence
- Deals land on a default user or fail.
- Mitigation
- Invite users and map emails first.
Stop if: An open deal has no resolved owner.
Do the work in this order.
- Days 1–4 · inventory
Decide what sales needs
6–12 hours active2–4 days elapsedMarketing and sales waiting- List companies, contacts, open deals, and workflows sales still uses.
- Decide what stays in HubSpot.
Depends on: HubSpot super admin and a Pipedrive admin
Stop / go checkpointExport?
Go when: The stay-behind list is signed.
Stop when: Support tickets are in scope with no destination.
- Days 4–7 · backup
Export with ids
4–8 hours active1–3 days elapsedHubSpot export email waiting- Export companies, contacts, deals, and open activities with record ids.
- Hash the files.
Depends on: Signed scope
Stop / go checkpointSample import?
Go when: Every deal row has a stage and an owner email.
Stop when: Record ids are missing.
- Days 7–16 · pilot
Fields and a 50-row sample
12–30 hours active5–9 days elapsedField setup waiting- Create pipelines, custom id fields, and users.
- Import 50 rows. Fix or delete them before the full load.
Depends on: Id exports
Stop / go checkpointFull load?
Go when: The sample count equals the sample file.
Stop when: A rerun increased the organization count.
- Days 15–22 · cutover
Freeze deals and load
6–14 hours active1–4 days elapsedDeal freeze waiting- Stop new HubSpot deals.
- Load organizations, people, and deals once.
- Move open activities.
Depends on: Clean sample
Stop / go checkpointReps switch?
Go when: Open deal counts match and owners resolve.
Stop when: HubSpot can still create deals.
- Days 20–30 · observe
One week of selling
5–10 hours active5–8 days elapsedLive pipeline waiting- Watch new deals and activities in Pipedrive only.
- Keep HubSpot marketing as agreed.
Depends on: Cutover
Stop / go checkpointClose rollback?
Go when: Sales is not creating deals in HubSpot.
Stop when: Duplicate organizations appear.
Cut over with a way back.
Cutover
Load each HubSpot sales record once and make Pipedrive the only place new deals are created.
- Freeze HubSpot deal creation.
- Export the final companies, contacts, deals, and open activities with record ids.
- Import organizations, people, then deals, once.
- Compare counts with the file, not with a second import.
- Tell marketing where new contacts still go.
Proof to capture: Pipedrive organization and deal counts equal the freeze file. HubSpot deal creation is off.
Rollback
Return deal entry to HubSpot without keeping a duplicated Pipedrive database as the source of truth.
- Stop Pipedrive deal edits.
- Turn HubSpot deal creation back on.
- Export Pipedrive deals created after the load, using the stored HubSpot id.
- Update HubSpot only where the id is new or the row was reviewed.
- Do not import that file back into Pipedrive.
Proof to capture: HubSpot is the sales writer again. Pipedrive is not receiving new deals.
- Organization count exceeds the source file
- Open deals missing
- Owners unresolved
- The same person created in both tools
- A second full import was started
Prove the migration worked.
Every blocking check must pass. Capture the evidence before cleanup begins.
| Pass | ID | Check | Method | Expected result | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
V-01Blocking | HubSpot record ids | Confirm every company, contact, and deal row has a record id. | No blank ids in the load file. | Id check. | |
V-02Blocking | 50-row count | Import the sample and count organizations. | The count equals the sample, not a multiple of it. | Sample count. | |
V-03Blocking | Open pipeline | Compare open deal counts and amounts. | They match the freeze file within the signed exclusions. | Pipeline pivot. | |
V-04Blocking | Email duplicates | Group people by email. | One person per primary email unless you signed an exception. | Duplicate report. | |
V-05Blocking | Organization on the deal | Open ten deals. | Each shows the mapped organization and primary person. | Sample notes. | |
V-06Blocking | User map | List open deals whose owner email did not match a user. | The list is empty or signed. | Owner report. | |
V-07 | Open tasks | Count activities due this week. | In-scope tasks exist on the right deal. | Activity sample. | |
V-08Blocking | HubSpot deals are frozen | Try to create a deal in HubSpot as a rep. | Creation is blocked. Pipedrive accepts it. | Permission check. |
Remove the scaffolding safely.
Safe after: One selling week with no new duplicate import and HubSpot deal creation still off.
- Archive the crosswalk of HubSpot ids to Pipedrive ids.
- Delete the failed sample if it is still in the account.
- Keep HubSpot for the marketing scope you signed.
- Turn off HubSpot workflows that still create deals.
- Remove import-only API tokens.
- Review Pipedrive duplicate filters after the first month.
When the plan met reality.
First-hand accounts are preferred. Vendor case studies are labeled, and every note below is an editorial paraphrase—follow the link for the full context.
Pipedrive's case study says Monterail's sales and marketing teams were on HubSpot's free CRM. Account executive Jan Solecki describes missing recurring activities and separate tasks on the pipeline view. Sales moved to Pipedrive through the API, and marketing stayed on HubSpot with a sync. Pipedrive says 10 people use it, including inbound, outbound, customer success, marketing, and managers. Pipedrive states a 35 percent rise in conversion-to-call and a 10 percent rise from call to qualified customer. Those percentages are Pipedrive's.
- If marketing is staying on HubSpot, move sales and keep a sync. That is the split Monterail describes.
- Recreate the pipeline tasks people were missing. The complaint was the HubSpot view, not a missing export.
- This is a Pipedrive case study. The conversion rates are their claims about Monterail.
- Marketing did not have to leave HubSpot for the sales team to change tools.
Dedupely's case study describes an unnamed Asia-Pacific SaaS founder moving from HubSpot to Pipedrive. The intended list was about 26,000 companies. A spreadsheet import was repeated, then a migration tool ran, and organizations grew to about 64,000, which Dedupely calls 2.5 times the real list. Pipedrive's own duplicate check flagged about 9,000. With Dedupely they matched on name plus address, then name plus phone, kept the record with the most field data, and merged more than 58,000 duplicate records across more than 29,000 matches. The account now syncs 26,551 records. The company is not named.
- Import once, then compare the organization count with HubSpot before anyone adds notes or deals.
- Match on name plus phone or address. A name-only match was too broad for this list.
- This is a Dedupely case study about cleanup after a messy import, not a Pipedrive product metric.
- Stacking a spreadsheet import and a second migration tool is how the organization count grew.
Verify against the primary material.
Platform behavior changes. Check these sources and the review dates above before executing a production migration.
- HubSpot: export recordsAccessed 2026-11-01
- Pipedrive: exporting dataAccessed 2026-11-01
- Pipedrive API: dealsAccessed 2026-11-01
- HubSpot: format import filesAccessed 2026-11-01