HubSpot custom objects allow businesses to store, manage, and associate highly specific data structures that fall outside standard customer relationship management (CRM) properties. By linking these unique data types to standard contacts, companies, or deals, organisations can tailor their HubSpot environment to reflect their exact operational reality and automate complex workflows.
The data structure within HubSpot relies on standard object records. For every person interacting with your organisation, a Contact record is created. The businesses they work for are stored as Companies. Sales opportunities are tracked as Deals, customer support requests as Tickets, and your offerings as Products.
These standard objects come with default properties, such as name, industry, and job title. If you need to store simple, unique data like the number of printers a specific company owns, you can easily create a custom property within the standard Company object.
However, standard objects and custom properties do not fit every scenario. Custom objects allow you to extend the functionality of the CRM by defining entirely new categories of data that align perfectly with your bespoke business model.
A common dilemma for HubSpot administrators is deciding whether to use a custom property or build a new custom object. The deciding factor is whether the relationship between the data is one-to-one or one-to-many.
If you need to track the primary email client a company uses, that is a one-to-one relationship. You only need a single custom property on the Company record to store that value.
Conversely, if an educational institution needs to track the various certificates a student has completed, a single custom property is insufficient. A student might complete multiple certificates over time. Creating "Certificate 1" and "Certificate 2" properties creates a messy, unscalable database. Instead, you create a "Certificates" custom object. This allows you to associate multiple distinct certificate records with a single Contact record.
Organisations that properly architect this one-to-many data model typically reach measurable time to value in an average of 32 days, as it enables cleaner reporting and more precise automation.*
[Results and timelines are based on historical programme data and defined scope. Your outcomes depend on data readiness, resourcing and agreed assumptions. See terms.]
While custom objects provide immense flexibility, they should only be created when absolutely necessary.
Standard objects carry built-in functionalities and AI-enabled features that you lose when replacing them with custom objects. For example, HubSpot Company Insights automatically populates public data on standard Company records. Standard Deals fuel built-in revenue forecasting reports. Whenever possible, leverage standard objects first to maximise the native power of the HubSpot platform.
CRM objects are not confined to your internal database. Data from custom objects can be shared across your website, landing pages, and marketing emails using HubSpot CMS Hub.
Using HubL tags, developers can pull CRM object data dynamically into HubSpot-hosted pages. This capability allows you to build highly personalised digital experiences. For instance, you can build a secure profile page that shows a user their active subscriptions, recent purchases, or assigned account representative. While some standard objects require a password-protected page, custom objects can be displayed securely on any public page to drive contextual user engagement.
A custom object is a user-defined database category in HubSpot CRM. It allows businesses to store, manage, and associate specific types of data, such as property listings, fleet vehicles, or software subscriptions, that do not fit into standard CRM categories.
A custom property stores a single piece of information (one-to-one) on an existing record, like a contact's dietary requirement. A custom object stores complex, independent records that can associate multiple times (one-to-many) with standard contacts or companies.
Yes. If your website is hosted on HubSpot CMS Hub, developers can use HubL tags to dynamically pull and display custom object data on public pages, landing pages, or password-protected customer portals.
Does your CRM data structure limit your reporting and automation? Book an outcomes consultation to see how Struto architects HubSpot custom objects to align with complex business operations.