Hubspot x Zoho CRM: Which CRM excels at WhatsApp integration?

When WhatsApp fuels your sales efforts, selecting the right CRM can mean the difference between sealing a deal and losing a lead. With Hubspot vs Zoho CRM, you'll find instant chat access, smooth message logging, AI-driven follow-ups, and intuitive drag-and-drop workflows. However, each platform takes a unique approach to customization, pricing transparency, and pipeline sophistication. Meanwhile, a next-gen competitor is quietly redefining what authentic WhatsApp integration should entail.

Why WhatsApp CRM Integration Matters

Linking WhatsApp directly to your CRM creates a seamless connection between conversations and revenue. Automated contact syncing and message logging eliminate manual data entry and prevent lost leads, ensuring every interaction is an actionable record.

• Accelerate response times by automatically triggering follow-ups and reminders as soon as a customer engages.
• Enhance engagement with personalized, template-based outreach that feels uniquely crafted.
• Simplify workflows with a single dashboard for chats, contacts, and campaign analytics.

When your team views every WhatsApp message alongside emails, calls, and deals, they spend less time searching for context and more time closing deals—transforming casual conversations into reliable conversions.

What is Hubspot?

HubSpot offers a free CRM that consolidates your contacts, deals, and tasks into a user-friendly interface—no credit card necessary. It includes live chat, email tracking, meeting scheduling, and ticketing tools right out of the box. With robust integrations to Marketing Hub and Service Hub, you can seamlessly automate processes between teams. As part of the HubSpot ecosystem, you have the option to scale up to paid plans when you need more advanced automation or reporting features. HubSpot's native WhatsApp integration allows you to send and receive messages in a shared inbox, automate template-based notifications through workflows, and maintain two-way customer conversations at scale.

What is Zoho CRM?

Zoho CRM combines AI-driven insights with extensive customization options to empower sales teams to close deals more efficiently. Its built-in assistant, Zia, predicts deal outcomes, identifies anomalies, and suggests optimal next steps in real-time. This platform integrates email, social media, live chat, and telephony into a single hub, ensuring that no lead is overlooked.

Featuring intuitive drag-and-drop dashboards and advanced analytics, you gain clear visibility into every phase of your pipeline. The WhatsApp integration allows you to automate sending and responding to WhatsApp Business messages directly through the CRM, complete with templated notifications and a shared team inbox for tracking all interactions.

Feature comparison of Hubspot and Zoho CRM

Two-Way Messaging

HubSpot’s native WhatsApp integration, available on Professional and Enterprise Service Hub plans, seamlessly incorporates two-way messaging into your shared conversations inbox. This allows agents to respond to customer inquiries with text, images, or videos directly from HubSpot. Incoming messages automatically generate a new thread associated with the respective contact, company, deal, or ticket record, while outbound template or free-form messages initiate 24-hour sessions to maintain the conversation flow. You’ll have complete visibility into session limits and conversation counts, ensuring you stay within your monthly quotas without any surprises. Additionally, workflows can trigger business-initiated template messages for re-engagement or reminders and log all interactions as timeline events.

Similarly, Zoho CRM provides a native WhatsApp Business integration through the Business Messaging API, which facilitates full two-way messaging. Each WhatsApp conversation is automatically recorded under the relevant contact record, enhancing your team's visibility into client interactions. Conversations can be assigned to specific agents, with replies syncing instantly within the CRM environment.

Template Management

HubSpot’s WhatsApp integration, available for Professional and Enterprise Service Hub users, features a synchronized template manager directly within your CRM. Once you connect your WhatsApp Business account, every approved template from Meta automatically syncs to HubSpot’s CRM under the Templates > WhatsApp tab. Here, you can easily filter templates by status (Ready to use, Needs personalization, Rejected), language, and category (promotional, transactional, OTP).

In Zoho CRM, users can create, store, and manage approved WhatsApp templates via the messaging API. These templates are suitable for bulk messaging or can be triggered automatically through workflow automations. The system adheres to WhatsApp Business guidelines, facilitating seamless outreach at scale while ensuring message quality and traceability of approvals.

Automated Responses & Chatbots

HubSpot’s native WhatsApp integration (available in Service Hub Professional and Enterprise) allows users to send and receive media attachments—including images, videos, audio, stickers, and documents up to 15 MB—directly from the conversations inbox or contact record.

Incoming media messages trigger timeline events that feature thumbnails and download links, enabling sales and support teams to view or forward assets seamlessly without the need to switch between apps.

Zoho CRM offers automated replies and chatbot-like experiences by utilizing its workflow builder alongside the WhatsApp Business API. You can set up auto-replies for frequently asked questions, delivery updates, and lead qualification. Coupled with lead scoring and CRM logic, Zoho provides a versatile framework for streamlining conversations while minimizing manual intervention.

Multimedia Support (Images, Videos, Files)

HubSpot’s native WhatsApp integration (available in Service Hub Professional and Enterprise) allows users to send and receive a range of media attachments—including images, videos, audio files, stickers, and documents up to 15 MB—directly from the conversations inbox or contact record.

Incoming media messages generate timeline events that feature thumbnails and download links, enabling sales and support teams to view or forward these assets without having to switch apps.

Through WhatsApp, users can exchange various types of media like images, PDFs, videos, and GIFs. All media shared in chats is automatically saved in contact records or help desk tickets, providing sales and support teams with complete context for each interaction without the hassle of switching tabs.

Contact & Lead Synchronization

HubSpot’s native WhatsApp integration, available on Professional and Enterprise Service Hub, automatically syncs every new WhatsApp conversation to the corresponding contact record in your CRM, either creating or updating the contact based on the phone number used.

Once you connect your WhatsApp Business account, only new messages will trigger this sync—historical chats will remain in WhatsApp. Each incoming thread generates a new timeline event linked to that contact or associated deal. For channels requiring lead capture, such as click-to-WhatsApp ads, you can automate contact creation from form submissions and seamlessly continue the conversation via WhatsApp, all tracked within HubSpot.

WhatsApp messages can also automatically create new contacts or leads in Zoho CRM, or update existing ones, ensuring your team never loses track of conversation threads or forgets to follow up. This seamless sync supports ticket creation, making it ideal for both support and sales workflows.

Workflow Triggers & Notifications

HubSpot’s Service Hub integrates with WhatsApp through certified partners, enabling it to capture events such as new messages, template sends, and delivery failures directly within its workflow engine. This allows you to initiate downstream automations—such as converting high-priority conversations into deals or support tickets and sending alerts to your team—making every WhatsApp interaction a valuable signal in your CRM.

Similarly, Zoho CRM allows workflows to be triggered by WhatsApp events, including received messages or user interactions. These triggers can be utilized to automatically send follow-up messages, update CRM fields, or notify team members. The versatility of Zoho’s automation engine simplifies the integration of WhatsApp into your comprehensive sales process.

folk CRM: The Premier CRM Integrated with WhatsApp

If your sales team utilizes WhatsApp for engaging leads and sealing deals, folk CRM's WhatsApp integration can revolutionize your approach.

With folk’s WhatsApp CRM, every conversation is automatically synced and logged into your system—eliminating the need for manual copy-pasting or the risk of lost messages. Gain full visibility into your team’s WhatsApp interactions with leads and customers, ensuring you grasp the context behind every deal. Whether it’s a follow-up or a pivotal decision, the complete picture is always at your fingertips.

However, folk is not limited to WhatsApp.
It seamlessly integrates with Gmail, Outlook, LinkedIn, Google Meet, Instagram, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and more—allowing you to manage emails, meetings, and social interactions all in one platform. Import contacts from various channels and manage them effortlessly within folk.

What truly distinguishes folk is its AI agents, which enhance your sales process by automating workflows, revealing deal insights, and increasing productivity—allowing your team to focus on closing deals rather than administrative tasks.
Are you ready to transform your sales operations and achieve remarkable results?

Conclusion

HubSpot excels with its user-friendly interface and robust integrations, while Zoho CRM leverages AI-driven insights for efficient deal closures. Both CRMs offer solid WhatsApp integration, enhancing communication and streamlining workflows. Yet, folk stands out as a remarkable alternative— seamlessly syncing conversations across WhatsApp and other platforms like Gmail and LinkedIn. With AI-driven automation and valuable insights, folk empowers your sales team to focus on what matters most: fostering strong customer relationships and driving sales success.

Start your 14-day free trial or book a demo today.