How to Migrate from Marketo to HubSpot | Step-by-Step Guide

Marketo is one of the most popular marketing platforms for enterprise companies, but its complicated interface and limited integrations often don’t make sense for many companies and brands. 

HubSpot offers a shallower learning curve, a more straightforward user interface, intuitive data visualizations, and most of the same automation tools that Marketo users covet.

As an all-in-one CRM, HubSpot combines marketing automation, sales enablement, reporting, and customer success tools into a single, streamlined platform for your RevOps and go-to-market teams to manage your data in a single source.

Despite its wide range of integrations with popular tools, such as Salesforce, migrating all your Marketo data to HubSpot can be complicated and error-prone without proper guidance. 

For example, Marketo’s custom fields that don’t automatically transfer to HubSpot must be recreated manually. Furthermore, data fields between Marketo and HubSpot don’t map neatly upon one another, requiring you to write custom fields in HubSpot’s terms. 

Migrating from Marketo to HubSpot requires meticulous planning and significant effort to ensure all your data transfers properly. 

This guide explains the exact steps needed to successfully migrate from Marketo to HubSpot, so you can avoid the common pitfalls that derail most migrations. These are the same steps we use for our clients.

Why Companies Are Moving from Marketo to HubSpot

While Marketo and HubSpot are two of the most popular marketing platforms for marketers, sales teams, and RevOps teams, HubSpot offers several advantages that make it appealing for teams of all sizes. 

• A Unified RevOps Platform: Marketo is primarily a marketing automation tool. HubSpot offers an end-to-end ecosystem, including CRM, Marketing Hub, Sales Hub, Service Hub, CMS, and Operations Hub, that removes tool silos and simplifies your entire go-to-market stack.

  
  

• Lower Total Cost of Ownership: Marketo often requires expensive add-ons for functionality that HubSpot includes natively. HubSpot’s pricing is clearer, more scalable, and easier to budget for.

  
  

• Stronger Marketing–Sales Alignment: HubSpot’s shared CRM timeline, unified reporting, and native sales tools make lifecycle tracking and handoff far smoother than a Marketo + Salesforce setup.

  
  

• Easier for Teams to Adopt: Marketo’s learning curve is steep and usually requires specialists. HubSpot’s intuitive interface empowers broader adoption across marketing, sales, and leadership.

If you’re considering transitioning from Marketo to HubSpot, it’s important to understand the steps and effort required for a successful migration. 

Step 1: Audit Your Marketo Instance

Migrating everything “as is” simply copies your problems into a new system. Worse, HubSpot doesn't replicate Marketo logic 1:1, so broken workflows and inconsistent data will follow you unless you clean house first.

Most long-running Marketo instances contain abandoned nurtures, outdated smart campaigns, old scoring models, unused lists, and the occasional “zombie” automation still firing in the background.

Instead of hunting for issues one asset at a time, structure your audit across major categories:

• Database health: duplicates, inactive contacts, incomplete fields
  
  

• Automation: lifecycle rules, scoring models, triggered campaigns
  
  

• Assets: landing pages, forms, emails, and UTM structures
  
  

• Integrations: Salesforce, webinar tools, enrichment platforms
  
  

• Reporting: what must be rebuilt and what should be retired

Your audit should end with a clear inventory of what stays, what gets left behind, and what needs to be rebuilt using HubSpot’s more modern framework.

Step 2: Map Marketo Fields to HubSpot Properties

Marketo and HubSpot speak different “data languages,” so one of the most critical early tasks is translating Marketo fields into HubSpot properties for contacts, companies, deals, and custom objects.

Start by exporting a full list of Marketo fields (including API names), then identify which ones have HubSpot equivalents and which need new custom properties. Standardizing naming conventions now will save headaches later.

Dropdown values and picklists should also be aligned to maintain consistent reporting.

During this process, flag fields that do not need to be migrated—old scoring fields, deprecated sync properties, or legacy program statuses. Only bring forward what will be used.

Step 3: Clean & Prepare Your Database Before Importing

A migration is the perfect time to improve data hygiene. If Marketo has been used for years, there will be unsubscribes, bounces, duplicates, bot submissions, and incomplete profiles baked into your database.

HubSpot charges based on marketing contacts, and bloated lists quickly drive up costs. Cleaning your database also improves segmentation, deliverability, lead scoring, and reporting accuracy.

Archive cold leads with no engagement for 12–24 months. Suppress spam or bot entries. Deduplicate using your CRM or tools like Operations Hub or Insycle. Normalize fields like job titles or industries, and verify email compliance (GDPR/CCPA).

Once your database is clean, segment contacts into meaningful import groups so the data lands in HubSpot in an organized, usable format.

Step 4: Rebuild Automations and Scoring Models in HubSpot

Marketo Smart Campaigns cannot simply be copied into HubSpot. Instead, you’ll need to recreate your automation using HubSpot’s workflow engine—which is far more visual, integrated, and CRM-aware.

Rebuild essentials such as:

• Lead scoring models (HubSpot supports both contact + company scoring)
  
  

• Lifecycle stage transitions
  
  

• MQL and qualification logic
  
  

• Lead routing and assignment workflows
  
  

• SDR handoff and task-creation rules
  
  

• Internal notifications and alerts
  
  

• Form follow-ups and nurturing sequences
  
  

• Subscription and compliance workflows

Instead of recreating old inefficiencies, use this step to simplify and optimize workflows that were overly fragmented or complex in Marketo. This is your chance to build a cleaner, more scalable RevOps engine inside HubSpot.

Step 5: Rebuild Email Templates, Landing Pages & Forms

Marketo assets don’t translate into HubSpot templates, so each one needs to be recreated. HubSpot’s design tools make it easier to modernize your brand and streamline future edits.

Use this stage to improve your marketing assets:

• Create new landing pages using flexible HubSpot themes. 

  
  

• Rebuild modular email templates that your team can update without a designer.

  
  

• Standardize forms and take advantage of HubSpot’s cleaner field logic.

As you rebuild, consolidate assets you no longer need and integrate A/B tests directly into your new campaigns.

Step 6: Rebuild or Migrate Integrations

Integrations don’t transfer automatically between Marketo and HubSpot. Marketo’s old webhooks, custom APIs, and legacy sync rules need to be retired so you can rebuild cleaner, more reliable connections in HubSpot.

Here’s a streamlined approach:

• Shut off old Marketo webhooks and APIs so they don’t keep feeding outdated data.
  
  

• Rebuild integrations using HubSpot’s native connectors or private apps—simpler, faster, and easier to maintain.
  
  

• Set clear sync rules, especially around what pushes, pulls, and overwrites.
  
  

• Test data flow before launch to confirm everything behaves correctly.
  
  

If Salesforce is in the mix, be sure to align lifecycle stages, lead statuses, and ownership rules across both platforms before syncing a single record.

Step 7: Set Up Reporting, Dashboards & Attribution

Sales, marketing, and leadership depend on accurate dashboards to make decisions. Misconfigured attribution or lifecycle reporting can erode trust in the new system.

Rebuild the essentials of your Marketo pipeline in HubSpot:

• Lifecycle conversion tracking (Lead → MQL → SQL → Opportunity → Closed Won)
  
  

• Channel and source attribution
  
  

• Campaign performance dashboards
  
  

• Pipeline and revenue trend reporting
  
  

• Sales activity + productivity metrics
  
  

• Marketing influence and multitouch attribution
  
  

A well-designed reporting layer ensures that HubSpot becomes your single source of truth.

Step 8: Test Everything Before Going Live

Testing is the final safeguard between you and a broken system. This is where you catch workflow errors, routing issues, or sync failures before they affect real prospects and customers.

Test for every critical component, including:

• Forms: submissions, field mapping, and thank-you redirects
  
  

• Lead routing: owner assignment, SDR notifications, and escalation rules
  
  

• Automated emails: triggers, personalisation tokens, and suppression logic
  
  

• Scoring thresholds: ensure leads advance stages correctly
  
  

• Lifecycle updates: verify transitions from Lead → MQL → SQL → Opportunity
  
  

• Landing pages: load speed, form behavior, and tracking scripts
  
  

• Integrations: bi-directional sync, field updates, and error logs
  
  

Only when everything behaves exactly as expected should you green-light the cutover. Testing prevents surprises and protects the integrity of your CRM, reporting, and customer experience from day one.

Step 9: Train Your Team & Roll Out HubSpot

The best migration in the world will fail if your team isn’t trained. HubSpot is intuitive, but it’s still a new ecosystem, and adoption depends on enabling every user.

Ensure users understand CRM basics, including tasks, forecasting, sequences, workflow triggers, and the SLA between sales and marketing.

Training drives adoption, and adoption determines ROI.

Common Challenges of Migrating Marketo to HubSpot

Even well-planned migrations encounter friction. Knowing these common pitfalls helps you avoid costly missteps:

• Field Mismatches & Data Loss: Marketo fields don’t always translate cleanly into HubSpot properties. Poor mapping can break workflows, miscategorize leads, or cause missing data after import.
  
  

• Rebuilding Overly Complex Marketo Logic: Many Marketo instances accumulate years of layered smart campaigns. Recreating them “as is” often results in bloated HubSpot workflows that slow performance and confuse teams.
  
  

• Underestimating Database Cleanup: Migrating every contact raises HubSpot marketing contact costs and inflates reporting. Dirty data is one of the biggest (and most expensive) migration mistakes.
  
  

• Integration Conflicts: Salesforce, ad platforms, and enrichment tools behave differently in HubSpot. Misconfigured rules can create duplicates, sync loops, or overwritten fields.
  
  

• Loss of Templates & Assets: Marketo emails, nurtures, and landing pages don’t migrate directly. Rebuilding all assets takes more time than most teams estimate.
  
  

• Lack of Training & Adoption: Even a perfect migration fails if teams don’t understand HubSpot. Without adoption, workflows break, data quality declines, and leadership loses confidence.

Working with a qualified HubSpot CRM specialist can help overcome these obstacles, ensure clean data, and set your sales and marketing teams up for future success. 

By understanding key differences between these platforms and working with a qualified HubSpot optimisation consultant, you can ensure a seamless migration and set your team up for success using HubSpot moving forward. 

FAQs

How long does a Marketo to HubSpot migration typically take?

Most migrations take 6–12 weeks, depending on database size, automation complexity, and the number of assets being rebuilt. Enterprise migrations can take longer.

Can I migrate all my Marketo programs, smart campaigns, and assets automatically?

No. Marketo assets cannot be auto-migrated. Emails, landing pages, nurtures, and workflows must be rebuilt manually in HubSpot.

Will my lead scoring model transfer from Marketo to HubSpot?

Not directly. You'll need to recreate scoring logic using HubSpot’s contact and company scoring tools—often a great opportunity to refresh outdated scoring rules.

How do I prevent duplicate or low-quality contacts from inflating HubSpot costs?

Clean your database before import. Remove inactive leads, dedupe records, and segment which contacts should become marketing contacts in HubSpot.