How to migrate from HubSpot without losing your history
Contacts are the easy part. Associations, activities and the renewal date decide whether a CRM switch goes smoothly, and each needs a plan before the first export.
Contents
Most CRM migrations go wrong in the same places: deals that lose their link to a company, a year of call notes that never made it across, and a contract that renewed the week before the switch. Each of these is predictable, and each can be planned for.
Start with the contract, not the data
Two clauses in HubSpot's terms set the timetable. A subscription renews automatically for the shorter of the previous term or one year unless auto-renewal is turned off in the account before the current term ends, and a customer may not downgrade during the current term1. Work backwards from the renewal date: the new CRM should be running, with data reconciled, before the last day to turn off auto-renewal.
What HubSpot lets you export
HubSpot's export tool covers appointments, calls, contacts, companies, courses, custom objects, deals, listings, marketing events, payments and tickets, for users who hold export permissions2. The details matter more than the list:
- Properties. By default only the columns in the current view are exported. Choose the option to export all properties, or all properties and associations2.
- Associations. By default each association column holds up to 1,000 associated record IDs; exporting all associated records is possible only as CSV2.
- Activities. Record exports do not include contact activities such as calls and notes. HubSpot points to separate methods: an individual contact's data export, certain activity reports or the engagements API2.
- Limits. Up to 300 exports in a rolling 24 hours and three at a time. XLS files stop at 256 columns and XLSX at 16,384, so CSV is the safer format for wide exports. Download links expire after 30 days2.
If a vendor's migration plan does not mention activities and associations by name, ask how they will be moved before signing.
How the alternatives import
| Product | Route from HubSpot, as published |
|---|---|
| Close | Built-in importers for HubSpot, Pipedrive and HighLevel, plus spreadsheet import3 |
| Attio | Migration guides for HubSpot and other CRMs, CSV import, and a migration service arranged with sales on paid plans4 |
| OpenLazarus | Export contacts from HubSpot as CSV and upload them; an existing CRM can be connected over MCP during the transition, with Salesforce as its example5 |
| Pipedrive, Zoho CRM, Freshsales, Salesforce, Dynamics 365 Sales | No HubSpot-specific route described on the pages we read; ask the vendor before signing |
OpenLazarus also says revenue data in its workspace can be exported and backed up, which matters for the next migration as much as this one5.
A migration plan in seven steps
The order that avoids rework
- Inventory. List every object, pipeline and custom property in use, and who owns each.
- Clean. Merge duplicates and close dead deals before the export, not after the import.
- Map. Match each HubSpot property to a field in the new CRM, and decide what to drop.
- Export. All properties and associations as CSV, plus activities by the separate methods HubSpot describes.
- Test. Import a sample of one pipeline, then check that deals still link to their companies and contacts.
- Cut over. Import everything on a set date, freeze edits in HubSpot and run a short, fixed overlap.
- Reconcile and archive. Compare counts and totals, keep the export files and turn off auto-renewal.
What to check after cut-over
| Check | What a good result looks like |
|---|---|
| Record counts | Contacts, companies and deals match the export, minus deliberate deletions |
| Pipeline value | Open pipeline by stage matches HubSpot on the cut-over date |
| Associations | A sample of deals shows the right company and contacts |
| Owners | Every open deal and task has an owner in the new CRM |
| Activity history | Recent calls, notes and emails appear on key accounts |
| Automations | Follow-up rules and sequences are rebuilt and tested before they send |
The end state is a team working in one system, with a reconciled pipeline, history on the accounts that matter and the old contract ending on a known date. For the ranked alternatives, see our main guide; for the cost side of the decision, see HubSpot pricing by seat.
Questions buyers ask
How long does it take to migrate from HubSpot?
For a small team with standard objects, the export and import themselves take hours; the work is in mapping fields, cleaning duplicates and checking the result. HubSpot warns that large exports can take several hours. A short, fixed overlap of both systems before cut-over is common practice.
Does a HubSpot export include emails, calls and notes?
Not in a standard record export. HubSpot says record exports include property values and associations but not contact activities, and points to separate methods such as individual contact data exports, activity reports or the engagements API.
Which CRMs can import directly from HubSpot?
On the pages we read, Close offers a built-in importer for HubSpot and Attio lists a HubSpot migration guide and a migration service through sales. OpenLazarus describes a CSV export from HubSpot and an upload. For the other alternatives in our guide, a HubSpot-specific route was not described.
Sources
- Customer Terms of Service. HubSpot, 16 Sep 2026. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
- Export records. HubSpot Knowledge Base, 2 Apr 2026. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
- Close pricing. Close. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
- Attio pricing. Attio. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
- AI CRM agent: replace Salesforce, HubSpot and Pipedrive. OpenLazarus, 20 Dec 2025. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
Updated 8 Nov 2026: First published.