What are HubSpot Marketing Contacts and how do they work?

Key Takeaways

HubSpot contact management now separates marketing contacts from non-marketing contacts.

• Only marketing contacts count toward your HubSpot Marketing Hub tier limits.
• Non-marketing contacts (up to 15M) can be stored without affecting pricing.
• Changes apply only to HubSpot Marketing Hub not Sales Hub, Service Hub, or CMS.
• New billing rules require stricter contact tier management to avoid overage charges.
• Use workflows and notifications to efficiently manage HubSpot digital marketing contacts.

Updates to HubSpot happen regularly, that’s one of the reasons we love the tool… it’s constantly being optimised for better customer experience. Now they’ve launched a change to the way they store contacts within the Marketing Hub.

This update is something that’s going to give HubSpot users more choice in how they manage the contacts in their portal, but it’s important to understand how it will affect contact tier limits and pricing. Read on to learn more about this change and what it means for you.

What are marketing contacts?
What has changed with this update?
Does this change affect Service Hub, Sales Hub, or the CMS?
How do I manage my contacts?
How does changing my Marketing Status work?
What does this mean for current Marketing Hub customers?

What are marketing contacts?

Marketing contacts are contacts with the Marketing Status property value set to Yes. In other words, these are the contacts which you’re actively marketing to via marketing tools like email sending and ads audiences. They’ll also count towards your contact tier (which we’ll discuss more later).

Marketing contacts are leads you actively engage with via:

• Email campaigns
• Ads audiences
• Other HubSpot marketing tools
• Non-marketing contacts (status = "No") do not count toward your contact tier.

Here's an illustration to help you understand the hub segmentations a bit better.

From 21 October 2020, all new Marketing Hub portals will follow the above rules to allow for marketing and non-marketing contacts. If you are a legacy customer still on the previous contact setup, we recommend reviewing your account and deciding if you want to switch over. If you currently have a discount on your account you may find it more affordable to remain on your current setup. Just keep in mind that once you decided to switch over, you can't switch back. 

What has changed with this update?

• Tier-based pricing now applies only to marketing contacts.
• Contact bundles must be purchased in larger increments.
• No leniency for exceeding limits, automatic tier upgrades apply.

Previously, with a Marketing Hub portal, your contact limit included all contacts in your portal, regardless of whether you’re actively marketing to them or not. The change now allows for marketing and non-marketing contacts to be separated and has affected contact management and email sending limits according to the below table which explains the changes to each tier. 

Marketing hub with marketing contacts

The biggest changes include a slight increase in the monthly cost for Marketing Hub Professional and the included contacts for this cost. Another is the change to the number of contacts you can buy at a time, called contact bundles above. Previously you could purchase 1000 contacts at a time, but now, you need to purchase contacts in bundles of 5000 (Professional) and 10 000 (Enterprise) contacts at a time.

One final thing to take note of is a change to the timing around when you’ll be charged for contacts. Previously, you were able to exceed your contact tier and were only charged at your next billing cycle, this meant that managing your database size was not an urgent matter as going over your contact tier could be managed on a monthly or quarterly basis. The new plan doesn’t offer this leniency so database management and control of the number of contacts in your portal is vital in managing your billing.

Does this change affect Service Hub, Sales Hub, or the CMS?

• No. Only HubSpot Marketing Hub portals are impacted.
•  Non-marketing contacts can still:
  • Receive sales emails & sequences
  • Engage in chat conversations
  • Be included in CRM reports

How do I manage my HubSpot  contacts?

• Set up notifications for when contacts reach 75%, 90%, and 98% of your limit.
• Use workflows to automate contact status updates.
• Import rules:
  • Form submissions → Configurable (marketing/non-marketing)
  • Manual imports → Default to non-marketing
  • CRM entries → Default to non-marketing

Permissions are available to limit who has access to change contacts from marketing contacts to non-marketing contacts and vice-versa.

Take a look at this article for tips on how you can use workflows to maintain this more effectively in your database. 

How does changing Marketing Status work?

You can change a contact from marketing to non-marketing at any time but the change will only reflect on the 1st of every month.

You can change a contact from non-marketing to marketing at any time and start marketing to them immediately - just keep in mind that if you go over your marketing contact tier, you will be automatically moved to the next contact tier and billed retrospectively.

When creating contacts the below rules apply to whether a contact will be listed as marketing /non-marketing:

• Contacts from an import - Automatically created as non-marketing contacts.
• Contacts who complete a form - the form setup will have a property that chooses whether these contacts who complete this form will be marked as marketing/non-marketing contacts. Take a look at the article mentioned above for some ideas on how to manage this. 
• Contacts created through Conversations/CRM - Automatically tagged as non-marketing contacts.

• Manually update the contacts using the edit functionality
• Individually update the property on a contact in the CRM
• Use a workflow to update the status of contacts based on specific criteria.
  • The eligibility flow tool allows you to check and understand the number of contacts HubSpot recommends as non-marketing

I already have Marketing Hub, how will I be affected?

Current HubSpot Marketing Hub customers are under no obligation to change to this package BUT, if you’d like to make the change, we recommend that you wait for your next billing cycle to upgrade as the change will restart your current contract and no credits will be allocated.

The contact limit on HubSpot has always been a debatable topic, and we think this change is going to have many pros for future customers. But if you’re a current one, take some time to consider what you’re currently paying for HubSpot and any discounts you have applied to your portal before you determine whether this is a good fit for your business. We recommend this change for companies who only market to a segment of their database but store a large number of sales or service contacts in their database as well.

If you’re looking at getting HubSpot or you’re currently using Marketing Hub and would like an expert to help you use your portal to the fullest, please reach out and we’ll help you determine how this can be applied in your business.

Final Thoughts

The HubSpot contact update improves flexibility for HubSpot digital marketing users. By separating marketing and non-marketing contacts, businesses can:

•  Reduce costs by excluding non-marketing leads from tier limits.
•  Store more contacts (up to 15M non-marketing).
•  Optimize workflows for better lead management.

Need help? Consult a HubSpot marketing expert to maximize your strategy!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is a HubSpot marketing contact?

A contact marked "Yes" in Marketing Status, counting toward your tier limit.

2. How do I avoid overage charges?

Monitor notifications at 75%, 90%, and 98% of your limit.

Convert inactive leads to non-marketing contacts.

3. Can I switch back to the old pricing model?

 No. Once you upgrade, the change is permanent.

4. Does this affect email sequences in Sales Hub?

 No. Only marketing emails are restricted for non-marketing contacts.

5. Should I upgrade now?

Evaluate discounts on your current plan. Best for businesses with large non-marketing databases.