How to Migrate from HubSpot to Zoho (Without Losing Data)

The migration takes 5 steps: audit your HubSpot data, export everything to CSV, map fields to Zoho equivalents, import into Zoho CRM, and rebuild your automations. Most teams complete this in 1 to 3 weeks depending on data volume and workflow complexity.

This migration is straightforward if you follow the right sequence. The data part is simple. The automation rebuild is where teams lose time (and sometimes lose their minds). This guide covers both, including the exact field mapping table I use on every project.

The 5-Step Migration Process

Here’s the overview before we dig into each step.

Step 1: Audit. Catalog every contact property, deal stage, pipeline, automation, and integration in HubSpot. You need a complete picture before exporting anything.

Step 2: Export. Pull CSVs from HubSpot for contacts, companies, deals, tickets, and any custom objects. Export workflow definitions separately.

Step 3: Map fields. Match every HubSpot property to its Zoho CRM equivalent. Create custom fields in Zoho for anything that doesn’t have a native match.

Step 4: Import. Use Zoho’s import wizard to bring data in. Clean and deduplicate during import, not after.

Step 5: Rebuild automations. Translate HubSpot Workflows into Zoho Blueprint and Workflow Rules. This is the slowest step, plan for it.

Timeline varies. A team with 5,000 contacts and 3 pipelines finishes in a week. A team with 50,000+ contacts, 15 automations, and custom objects needs 2 to 3 weeks with testing.

When Switching Makes Sense (and When It Doesn’t)

Not every team should switch. Here’s the honest decision matrix.

Factor	Switch to Zoho	Stay on HubSpot
Monthly CRM cost	Over $800/month on HubSpot Professional	Under $400/month on Starter
Team size	Under 25 users	Over 50 users already trained on HubSpot
Marketing Hub dependency	Don’t use HubSpot Marketing Hub heavily	Marketing Hub is core to your stack
Integration needs	Use Zoho ecosystem (Books, Desk, Projects)	Deep HubSpot App Marketplace integrations
Data residency	Need data in specific regions	No compliance requirements
Budget pressure	Need to cut CRM costs by 40 to 60%	Budget is not the primary concern

Stay on HubSpot if: Your team is deeply embedded in HubSpot Marketing Hub, you have 50+ users trained on the platform, and you rely on HubSpot-specific integrations that don’t exist in Zoho. The switching cost won’t be worth it.

Switch to Zoho if: You’re paying for HubSpot Professional or Enterprise but using mostly CRM features, your team is under 25 people, or you need the broader Zoho One suite (mail, books, desk, projects) at a fraction of the cost. Most teams switching save 40 to 60% annually.

The teams I see switching most often are 5 to 20 person companies on HubSpot Professional ($800+/month) who realized they’re paying enterprise prices for what’s essentially a contact database and deal tracker.

Field Mapping Guide

This is the table I use on every HubSpot to Zoho migration. It covers the critical fields across contacts, deals, and companies. Bookmark this.

Contact Field Mapping

HubSpot Property	Zoho CRM Field	Notes
First Name	First Name	Direct match
Last Name	Last Name	Direct match
Email	Email	Direct match
Phone Number	Phone	Direct match
Mobile Phone Number	Mobile	Direct match
Company Name	Account Name	Link via Company/Account association
Job Title	Title	Direct match
Lifecycle Stage	Lead Status	Requires value mapping (see below)
Lead Status	Lead Source	Different concept in Zoho, map carefully
Contact Owner	Record Owner	Must match Zoho user emails
Create Date	Created Time	Auto-mapped on import
Last Activity Date	Last Activity Time	Auto-mapped on import
Associated Company	Account Name	Requires separate company import first
Custom Properties	Custom Fields	Create in Zoho before import

Lifecycle Stage Value Mapping

HubSpot’s lifecycle stages don’t map 1:1 to Zoho’s lead statuses. Here’s how I typically translate them.

HubSpot Lifecycle Stage	Zoho Lead Status
Subscriber	Cold
Lead	Not Contacted
Marketing Qualified Lead	Attempted to Contact
Sales Qualified Lead	Contacted
Opportunity	Junk (skip, use Deals)
Customer	Converted to Contact
Evangelist	Custom field
Other	Custom field

Deal Field Mapping

HubSpot Property	Zoho CRM Field	Notes
Deal Name	Deal Name	Direct match
Deal Stage	Stage	Requires stage name mapping
Amount	Amount	Direct match
Close Date	Closing Date	Direct match
Pipeline	Layout	One Zoho layout per HubSpot pipeline
Deal Owner	Deal Owner	Must match Zoho user emails
Associated Contact	Contact Name	Link after contact import
Associated Company	Account Name	Link after company import

Company Field Mapping

HubSpot Property	Zoho CRM Field	Notes
Company Name	Account Name	Direct match
Company Domain	Website	Direct match
Industry	Industry	Direct match
Annual Revenue	Annual Revenue	Direct match
Number of Employees	Employees	Direct match
Company Owner	Account Owner	Must match Zoho user emails
City	Billing City	Zoho separates billing/shipping
State/Region	Billing State	Zoho separates billing/shipping
Country	Billing Country	Zoho separates billing/shipping

Step-by-Step Data Export and Import

Exporting from HubSpot

Go to Contacts > Actions > Export. Select all properties. Choose CSV format.

Repeat for Companies, Deals, and Tickets. Each object exports separately.

For contacts, HubSpot lets you export all contacts or filtered lists. Export everything. You can filter during Zoho import.

Critical: Export companies first. Then contacts. Then deals. The import order matters because Zoho needs to link records via Account Name, and those accounts need to exist first.

Custom properties export as column headers matching your HubSpot property names. Note them. You’ll need to create matching custom fields in Zoho before import.

Preparing CSVs for Import

Open each CSV and clean it before importing. Every migration I’ve done hits the same issues.

Remove HTML tags from any rich text fields. HubSpot exports the raw HTML. Zoho’s import wizard chokes on it.

Standardize date formats. HubSpot exports dates as YYYY-MM-DD. Zoho accepts this, but double check your locale settings.

Remove any column with internal HubSpot IDs (like hs_object_id, vid, canonical-vid). These mean nothing in Zoho and clutter your import.

Check for duplicate emails. HubSpot allows duplicate contacts in some cases. Zoho doesn’t. Deduplicate before import or Zoho will flag them as errors.

Importing into Zoho CRM

Go to Setup > Data Administration > Import. Select the module (Leads, Contacts, Accounts, Deals).

Upload your CSV. Zoho’s import wizard shows a field mapping screen. This is where your mapping table from above saves hours. Match each CSV column to the correct Zoho field.

For fields that don’t have a Zoho match, create custom fields before starting the import. Don’t skip them and try to add data later. That turns into a mess.

Import order matters. Accounts first. Then Contacts (with Account Name linked). Then Deals (with Account Name and Contact Name linked). Breaking this order means broken associations.

Run a test import with 50 records first. Check that field values, associations, and custom fields all landed correctly. Only then import the full dataset.

Zoho’s import handles up to 30,000 records per batch. For larger datasets, split your CSV and run multiple batches.

Rebuilding Automations

This is the part that takes the most time. HubSpot Workflows don’t export to Zoho. You rebuild them manually.

What Translates

HubSpot Feature	Zoho Equivalent	Translation Difficulty
Simple Workflows (if/then)	Workflow Rules	Easy, 1:1 mapping
Deal Stage Automations	Blueprint	Medium, different concept
Enrollment Triggers	Workflow Triggers	Easy, similar options
Delay Actions	Scheduled Actions	Easy
Email Sequences	Cadences (Zia)	Medium, requires Zoho Zia
Branching Logic	Blueprint Transitions	Medium to hard
Custom Code Actions	Deluge Scripts	Hard, different language
Chatbot Flows	Zoho SalesIQ	Hard, completely different builder

What Doesn’t Translate

HubSpot’s marketing automation (email nurture sequences, lead scoring, smart lists) has no direct Zoho CRM equivalent. You need Zoho Marketing Automation or Zoho Campaigns as a separate product.

HubSpot’s reporting dashboards don’t migrate. Rebuild them in Zoho Analytics or Zoho CRM’s built-in reports.

Any custom coded actions in HubSpot Workflows need to be rewritten in Zoho’s Deluge scripting language. Deluge is not JavaScript. Budget extra time for this.

Rebuild Priority

Start with deal stage automations. These directly affect pipeline operations and are the highest risk if delayed.

Then rebuild lead assignment rules. Without these, new leads sit unassigned.

Email sequences come next. If your sales team relies on automated follow-up sequences, this is where you lose deals during migration.

Leave reporting dashboards for last. They’re important but not operationally blocking.

For complex automations that HubSpot Workflows handled, consider using n8n as a middleware layer. I do this for clients who need logic that neither HubSpot nor Zoho handles well natively. n8n connects to both systems via API, and you can build branching logic that would be painful in either CRM’s native automation tools.

If you need help with the automation rebuild specifically, that’s what we do at triggerAll.

Why Indian Businesses Are Switching to Zoho

The India angle is different from the global story. It’s not just about features.

INR billing. Zoho bills in Indian Rupees. HubSpot bills in USD. For a 10-person team on HubSpot Professional, you’re paying approximately $800/month (around ₹67,000/month at current rates). The same team on Zoho CRM Professional pays ₹1,200/user/month, totaling ₹12,000/month. That’s an 82% cost reduction.

Data residency. Zoho has data centers in India (Chennai and Mumbai). If your clients or compliance requirements demand data stay within Indian borders, Zoho solves this natively. HubSpot stores data in the US and EU.

Local support. Zoho is headquartered in Chennai. Support is in your timezone, in your language. HubSpot support routes through US and EU teams. The time zone gap means 24+ hour turnaround on support tickets.

Zoho One pricing. For ₹2,000/user/month (approximately), you get the entire Zoho suite: CRM, Books, Mail, Desk, Projects, Analytics, Marketing Automation, and 40+ other apps. There’s no HubSpot equivalent at any price.

GST integration. Zoho Books integrates natively with Zoho CRM and handles GST invoicing, e-way bills, and TDS. If you’re using HubSpot CRM and a separate accounting tool for Indian compliance, Zoho collapses that into one ecosystem.

For Indian SMBs doing ₹50 lakh to ₹5 crore in annual revenue, the Zoho One bundle is the most cost-effective CRM plus business suite available. Indian companies switching off HubSpot consistently cite billing currency and Zoho One pricing as the primary drivers.

FAQ

Q1: Can I migrate HubSpot contacts to Zoho without losing custom properties? A: Yes. Export all custom properties from HubSpot as CSV columns. Create matching custom fields in Zoho CRM before running the import. Map each CSV column to the corresponding Zoho field during import. No data loss if you create the fields first.

Q2: How long does a HubSpot to Zoho migration take? A: 1 to 3 weeks for most teams. Small teams (under 5,000 contacts, 2 to 3 pipelines, minimal automation) finish in a week. Larger teams with 50,000+ contacts, complex automations, and custom integrations need 2 to 3 weeks including parallel testing.

Q3: Will my HubSpot email sequences work in Zoho? A: Not automatically. HubSpot Sequences don’t export to Zoho. You’ll rebuild them using Zoho’s Cadences feature (available with Zia AI) or using Zoho Campaigns for marketing emails. The logic is similar but the builder is different. Budget 2 to 3 days for sequence rebuilds.

Q4: Can I migrate HubSpot deal pipelines to Zoho CRM? A: Yes. Each HubSpot pipeline maps to a Zoho CRM Layout. Export your deals with pipeline and stage columns, create matching layouts and stages in Zoho, then import. Deal stage names don’t need to match exactly since you map them during import.

Q5: What happens to my HubSpot integrations after switching? A: Each integration needs to be re-evaluated. Check if the same app is available in the Zoho Marketplace. Popular tools like Slack, Google Workspace, and Mailchimp have Zoho integrations. For niche tools, you may need n8n or Zapier as middleware to connect Zoho to apps it doesn’t support natively.

Q6: Is Zoho CRM good enough for enterprise teams? A: Zoho CRM Enterprise handles complex needs: territory management, multi-currency, custom modules, and Deluge scripting. It works well for teams up to 200 users. Beyond that, or if you need Salesforce-level customization depth, evaluate carefully. For teams under 100, Zoho Enterprise at ₹2,800/user/month competes directly with Salesforce at 5x the price.

---

Krishna is the founder of triggerAll, where he builds custom CRM migration and automation systems for businesses switching platforms without losing data or operational continuity.