Pardot vs HubSpot & Why Teams Are Switching [Webinar]

MarCloud Founder Tom Ryan hosted a webinar unpacking the history and main differences between Pardot and HubSpot. Drawing on years of certified experience across both Salesforce and HubSpot ecosystems, he offered a balanced look at what’s driving teams to migrate, what’s holding others back, and how to approach migration strategically.

Watch the webinar replay below, or read on for the key points.

It helps to start with a bit of history. As Tom explained in the Pardot vs HubSpot webinar:

“Salesforce actually tried to buy HubSpot back in the 2010s. When that fell through, they bought ExactTarget instead, who happened to own Pardot at the time.”

That decision still shapes today’s marketing automation landscape. Salesforce now owns two overlapping platforms - Pardot (Account Engagement) and Marketing Cloud Engagement (ExactTarget) - while HubSpot chose a different route: building everything in-house.

This difference in DNA matters.

• Salesforce’s acquisition-led growth means its ecosystem is powerful but fragmented, with connectors bridging tools like Slack and Tableau.

• HubSpot’s all-in-one build means faster innovation cycles and a consistent user experience.

This evolution impacts decision-making because marketing teams traditionally control automation choices, but Salesforce may shift control to IT budgets, affecting marketing’s influence.

To counteract this, Salesforce is pivoting to its new Marketing Cloud Growth and Advanced editions, built on the Salesforce core platform and embedding some of these features into Pardot - but is it too late?

According to Tom, many teams selecting or reviewing their automation tools aren’t interested in shiny features; they’re assessing efficiency, control, and future readiness.

Here’s what’s driving implementation and migration conversations:

1. Ease of use and AI integration

The number one frustration with Pardot is the email builder.

“The email builder hasn’t been touched for years,” Tom said. “You need HTML and CSS skills to make anything look good. HubSpot, on the other hand, lets marketers create on-brand emails with drag-and-drop tools and AI baked in.”

HubSpot’s AI-powered content remixing can take a blog, PDF, or existing campaign asset and generate social posts, emails, or landing pages from it, ready for refinement by a human. For smaller teams, this is a huge time-saver!

2. Built-in data enrichment and reporting

HubSpot’s CRM surfaces AI summaries, enrichment, and segmentation tools directly within contact and company records. That means less manual data cleansing and fewer integrations to maintain.

“Marketers want to use AI without a computer science degree,” Tom noted - and HubSpot’s interface makes that possible.

Meanwhile, Pardot’s data hygiene relies more heavily on Salesforce configurations, which can require developer or admin involvement.

3. Transparent pricing and reduced lock-in

Vendor lock-in has become a growing concern for organisations dealing with rising licence costs and “credit systems.” HubSpot’s transparent pricing model and open integration marketplace appeal to teams who want control and flexibility.

Both platforms ultimately serve the same purpose: centralising campaigns, nurturing leads, and tracking ROI. Yet they feel very different in use.

Campaign creation

• Pardot: Built around Salesforce Campaigns, which offer rich hierarchical reporting but rely on meticulous data entry.

• HubSpot: Uses a visual campaign canvas, where marketers can drag and drop assets, assign owners, add briefs, and collaborate in real time.

Tom described it neatly:

“HubSpot lets marketers build campaigns like marketers, not like data admins.”

It’s particularly valuable for hybrid or remote teams that thrive on visual collaboration.

Forms and workflows

One often-overlooked feature is HubSpot’s ability to manage all form submissions from one workflow. As Tom joked, “If you’ve got 100 forms in Pardot and want to change a notification, you’ll need to open every single one. In HubSpot, it’s one update.” That alone can reclaim hours of admin time each month.

Everyday tools

HubSpot bundles in a surprising number of extras:

• Social posting and monitoring

• Mobile app and business card scanner

• Meeting booking forms and payment links via email

They’re small touches, but for time-poor marketers juggling multiple tools, the built-in convenience matters.

Both Pardot and HubSpot support campaign attribution, but the setup and usability differ significantly.

In Pardot, accurate ROI reporting depends on correctly linking Salesforce Campaigns and using Opportunity contact roles to feed data into Tableau’s B2B Marketing Analytics (B2BMA). Miss a step, and data gaps appear.

HubSpot’s approach is far easier. Because attribution is built into the campaign canvas, every asset automatically rolls into the campaign from the start. Its UTM tracking is also remarkably detailed, assuming your team uses consistent naming conventions.

The result: Marketing leaders can confidently prove contribution to revenue - something every CMO needs when it’s time to defend the budget.

When it comes to AI, the difference between Pardot and HubSpot comes down to accessibility.

• Pardot: AI functionality sits within Agentforce. It’s customisable but requires Apex coding to build agents and actions. This suits technically mature teams but limits day-to-day marketer use.

• HubSpot: Offers pre-built AI agents for social posting, content research, and customer insights. There’s no code required, only good prompts and an understanding of your brand guidelines around tone, cadence, etc.

As Tom explained:

“HubSpot’s AI agents are built for marketers. You can get up and running quickly without needing a developer on standby.”

That’s empowering for creative teams who want autonomy over their tools. It lowers the barrier to AI adoption, enabling faster deployment and better alignment with skills.

If you decide a switch is right for your business, how you migrate matters just as much as what you migrate.

Tom’s five-step framework offers a proven path:

1. Start with an audit

Understand what’s working, what’s not, and why. Often, legacy processes were built around limitations that no longer exist. This is your chance to streamline.

2. Define clear objectives and MVP

Don’t try to rebuild everything at once. Establish a minimum viable platform (MVP) that delivers essential campaigns first, then layer in more complex automations later.

3. Allow for a three-month crossover

Running both systems in parallel for a short period ensures business continuity and reduces the risk of lost data or missed leads.

4. Clean your data before you move

“Don’t lift and shift dirty data,” Tom warned. “AI features won’t perform well if the inputs are wrong.” Clean records support reliable segmentation and reporting. Also, be sure to map your CRM integration carefully, especially when maintaining Sales Cloud while moving to HubSpot for marketing automation.

5. Secure the right partner

Migration projects can quickly become overwhelming. Working with a certified partner like MarCloud ensures you get strategy, implementation, and training covered, setting you up for ongoing success.

Tom also highlighted four traps that can derail even the best-planned projects:

1. Trying to do everything at once - keep scope realistic.

2. Skipping team buy-in - if users aren’t trained or convinced, old habits return.

3. Underestimating time - build in buffer periods.

4. Copy-pasting old processes - use migration as an opportunity to improve, not replicate.

“Avoid a lift and shift. It’s the perfect time to fix what wasn’t working before.”

For balance, not every organisation needs to migrate. Changing marketing automation platforms and CRMs is a big decision and one that is emotional as much as it is technical. You may choose to stay on Pardot if:

• You already have a deep Salesforce integration working well.

• You rely on Business Units for complex multi-brand setups.

• Your contract renewal is still years away.

There’s also a strategic case for some enterprises to transition gradually toward Salesforce’s new Marketing Cloud on Core, which builds directly on Data Cloud and Agentforce.

If you only take three things from the webinar:

1. HubSpot gives marketers control. It’s a visual, intuitive platform with built-in AI tools that support creative autonomy and faster execution.

2. Salesforce remains powerful, but its acquisition-driven complexity can make it harder for non-technical teams to stay agile.

3. Migration success depends on planning. Audit first, move deliberately, and bring your team along for the journey.

Ultimately, the “Pardot vs HubSpot” debate isn’t about which is objectively better… It’s about which gives your marketing team the freedom to work smarter, prove ROI, and scale creativity.

Thinking about a platform switch? MarCloud offers impartial advice for Salesforce and HubSpot users alike. Book a no-obligation chat to review your setup, identify quick wins, and discuss a realistic migration plan.