Onboarding fee

Definition

An onboarding fee is a one-off charge some software vendors require in year one to configure the product and migrate data, billed separately from the subscription.

It is the most commonly omitted line in a software comparison, because it is usually absent from the pricing page. HubSpot requires one of $1,500 to $7,000 at Pro tier and above. Salesforce quotes implementation separately, typically as a partner engagement. A year-one comparison that leaves these out is not a comparison.