CRM migration cost: what switching CRMs really costs
Moving your contacts is the cheap part, since they export and import as a spreadsheet. The real cost of a CRM migration is rebuilding the automations, reports and connections that don't move, plus the new tool's fees and a few weeks of paying for both.
And before any of that, I'd want to know if you need to switch at all. Hope this helps.
Founder, Handled. Greenville, SC. Updated October 2026, 6 min read.
What moves easily, and what gets rebuilt
This split is where the cost lives.
- Contacts and custom fields. Export a spreadsheet, import it, match up the columns.
- Deals and pipeline stages. Recreate the stages in the new tool, then import the deals.
- Email wording. The words copy over. The templates get rebuilt.
- Automations. They don't export between CRMs. Rebuild the ones that matter, skip the rest.
- Reports and dashboards. Only rebuild the ones somebody actually looks at.
- Connections. Your forms, calendar, website and accounting all need to be pointed at the new tool.
- Activity history and files. Notes, call logs and attachments often don't come across cleanly. Decide what you actually need to keep.
Where the money actually goes
Four line items. Only the first one shows up on a pricing page.
The subscription, plus anything one-time. HubSpot Marketing Hub Professional, for example, is $800 a month on a yearly plan ($890 if you pay monthly), with a required $3,000 onboarding fee. GoHighLevel has no required onboarding fee.
You'll want the old CRM live while you check the new one. That's at least one month of double subscriptions. Check your old contract's renewal date before you start, so you're not locked into another year.
Your time, or someone else's quote, to clean the data, rebuild automations and reconnect everything. This is the big variable. Quotes vary too much for me to give you an honest average, so ask for a fixed price, not an hourly estimate.
Everybody learning a new tool at once. Budget real time for it, and give everyone their own seat in the new CRM from day one so you can see who changed what.
A quick example: a made-up switch, real prices
A small team moving from HubSpot Marketing Hub Professional to GoHighLevel Unlimited, with one month of overlap.
Overlap month: $800 for HubSpot plus $297 for GoHighLevel, so about $1,097 that month, plus GoHighLevel's usage fees for texts and calls.
After that: $297 a month plus usage, instead of $800. That's the number that makes the switch tempting.
Not in that math: the rebuild, and the team's learning time. GoHighLevel is busy to learn. If those two eat the savings for a year, the switch wasn't the win it looked like.
Before you switch, the order I'd go in
1Learn what you have
Write down the three things your current CRM won't do. Then check the help docs or ask their support. Sometimes it does them and nobody turned them on.
2Switch if a tool really fits
If another CRM does those three things and your team will actually use it, move. Do contacts first, then the pipeline, then rebuild only the automations that earn their spot.
3Build what's missing
If your team only touches the contacts list and one pipeline, a Stack Replacement build might fit better than another CRM. Ours start at $5,000 with a fixed quote after a free scoping call.
Questions people ask me
Got one that isn't here? Ask me on a free call →
How much does a CRM migration cost?
Moving the data itself is usually cheap: contacts, deals and custom fields export as a spreadsheet and import into almost any CRM. The real cost is rebuilding what doesn't move (automations, reports and integrations), the new software's own fees, and paying for both tools while you run them side by side. Some vendors add a fee of their own, like HubSpot's required $3,000 onboarding on Marketing Hub Professional.
Can I migrate my CRM myself?
Yes, if it's mostly contacts and a pipeline. Export a spreadsheet, clean it up, match the columns to the new CRM's fields and import. It gets harder when you have lots of automations, years of activity history, attached files, or other tools connected to the old CRM.
Do automations transfer when I switch CRMs?
No. Every CRM builds automations its own way, so they get rebuilt by hand in the new one. The upside is the rebuild is a good excuse to simplify. Rebuild the few that actually do something and let the rest go.
How long does a CRM migration take?
A clean contact list can move in a day. A real switch with pipelines, automations and connected tools usually takes a few weeks if you're doing it alongside running your business. Run both systems side by side for the first week or two so nothing falls through the cracks.
Should I switch CRMs at all?
Check first whether the one you have can already do what you need. A lot of switches are really about not knowing the current tool. If you only use the contacts and one pipeline, the answer might be a cheaper plan, a simpler tool, or something built for how you work, not another big CRM.
When you don't need me
Plenty of migrations are a spreadsheet and an afternoon.
It's mostly a contact list. Export, clean, import. The new CRM's help docs will walk you through it.
The new vendor will help you move. Ask their sales or support team before you hire anyone. It costs you one email to find out.
Nobody on your team is complaining about the CRM. If deals move and follow-ups go out, stay put. A migration costs real weeks.
What changed
- October 12, 2026: HubSpot Marketing Hub Professional's $800 a month is the yearly-plan price. Added the $890 monthly-billing price next to it.
- October 2026: rewritten top to bottom. Removed migration price ranges, timelines and lost-deal figures we couldn't source, and the three example businesses, which weren't real clients. Added a made-up switch priced from vendor pages and HubSpot's $3,000 onboarding fee.
- April 2026: first published.
Sources
Every price and outside fact on this page comes from the sources below, checked October 12, 2026. Prices change often, so check before you buy.
More from the resource library
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What Small Businesses Spend on Software
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Zapier vs Make
For reconnecting your tools after the move.
Automation Pricing for Service Businesses
What rebuilding your automations can run.
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