HubSpot vs. Attio (2026): The Comprehensive Migration Guide for B2B Sales Teams

Intro: HubSpot to Attio Migration Overview

If you are reading this, your team is likely evaluating a significant shift in your Go-To-Market infrastructure and preparing to move CRM from HubSpot to Attio.

Perhaps your upcoming HubSpot renewal includes the new 2026 pricing model, prompting a review of your budget allocation. Or, more likely, your business model has evolved. You might be finding that your product-led growth (PLG) data or complex B2B relationships simply don't fit neatly into standard CRM objects anymore.

You have likely seen Attio. It offers a promise of speed, flexibility, and a modern architecture that appeals to forward-thinking teams.

But a CRM migration is never a decision to be taken lightly. The question isn't just "Is Attio better?" The real question is, "Is the transition viable for our data, and what is the actual cost of change?"

This guide covers the engineering reality of a HubSpot to Attio migration: the data model differences, the technical risks, the API constraints, and the compliance considerations you need to address before you start.

The Core Philosophy: "The Suite" vs. "The Builder"

To make the right decision, it helps to step back from the features and look at the design philosophy of each platform. The friction teams often feel during a migration stems from a mismatch in expectations—they expect the new tool to behave exactly like the old one.

A helpful way to visualize this is to compare SharePoint and Notion.

The Case for HubSpot (The "SharePoint" Model)

HubSpot is built on a "Suite" philosophy. It is designed to be a comprehensive, pre-defined ecosystem.

• The Structure: The data model is rigid. You have Contacts, Companies, and Deals. While you can add custom properties, the fundamental relationships are set by HubSpot.
• The Advantage: It is safe and predictable. Because the guardrails are strong, it is difficult to "break" the system. It connects natively to marketing and service tools because they are all built by the same vendor.
• The Trade-off: As your business becomes more unique, the tool can feel restrictive. You may find yourself clicking through multiple screens to perform simple tasks, or struggling to model complex relationships (like a Partner who is also a Customer).

The Case for Attio (The "Notion" Model)

Attio is built on a "Database" philosophy. It is designed to be a flexible canvas for your revenue data.

• The Structure: You are the architect. If your business revolves around "Workspaces" rather than "Companies," you can build that. If you need to track "Investments" or "Candidates" alongside "Deals," you can create those objects natively.
• The Advantage: It is fast and tailored to your workflow. The "Command+K" interface allows power users to navigate without touching a mouse, and the data model fits your business glove-to-hand.
• The Trade-off: With great flexibility comes responsibility. You must be willing to design your own processes.

Attio's Real Limitations

A honest comparison requires naming what Attio does not do well:

• No native email sequencing. Attio has no built-in outbound sequence engine. You will need a dedicated tool like Instantly.ai or Smartlead.
• No native marketing automation. There is no equivalent to HubSpot Workflows for nurture campaigns. Make.com or Zapier becomes a required dependency.
• Reporting is limited compared to HubSpot. HubSpot's custom report builder and revenue attribution are significantly more mature. Attio's reporting is functional but basic for teams with complex funnel analytics needs.
• No native calling. HubSpot includes a built-in dialer. Attio does not.
• Smaller integration library. HubSpot's native integration catalogue is substantially larger. Attio relies more heavily on API or middleware connections.

If your team depends heavily on any of these capabilities, the replacement stack has real cost and engineering overhead.

Decision Framework

Rather than a prescriptive verdict, use the following criteria to reach your own conclusion:

Signal	Points toward HubSpot	Points toward Attio
Team size	50+ users, established sales ops	Under 30 users, fast-moving
Data complexity	Standard Contacts/Companies/Deals	Non-standard objects, PLG event data
Motion	Sales-led, outbound-heavy	Product-led, inbound-led
Engineering capacity	Low (prefers pre-configured)	Available to build and maintain
Marketing automation	Required natively	Happy to use third-party
Integrations	Needs 20+ native connectors	Comfortable with API/middleware

2026 Cost Analysis: Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

In 2026, pricing models have shifted. HubSpot has introduced "Mixed Pricing," allowing a blend of Core and Sales seats. Attio maintains a straightforward per-user model.

However, comparing sticker prices can be misleading. A true TCO analysis must include the "replacement stack"—the tools you will need to purchase to replace HubSpot's built-in marketing features.

Scenario: A mid-market B2B team with 10 full-time users (5 Sales, 1 Manager, 4 Leadership/Viewers).

Feature Category	HubSpot (Sales Hub Pro)	Attio (Pro Plan + The Modern Stack)
CRM Licensing	~$600/mo (Base fee + Seat mix)	~$690/mo ($69/seat x 10 users)
Onboarding Fees	$3,000 (Mandatory Professional Onboarding)	$0
Forms & Surveys	Included	+$29/mo (Typeform or Tally)
Outbound/Sequences	Included	+$99/mo (Instantly, Loops, or Resend)
Automation Engine	Included (Workflows)	+$29/mo (Make.com or Zapier)
Hidden Costs	API Limit Increases (Starts at $500/mo)	Engineering time for setup
Estimated Year 1 Total	~$12,000 - $15,000	~$10,500 - $11,500

The Analysis:

While Attio often has a lower entry price, the costs can converge when you add premium third-party tools. The primary financial driver for moving to Attio is usually not just saving money—it is the avoidance of forced tier upgrades. HubSpot gates features like Custom Objects behind Enterprise plans. Attio does not. For teams that need data model flexibility, that gating is the real cost driver.

How HubSpot and Attio Data Models Differ

Moving from HubSpot to Attio is a schema translation, not a data dump.

HubSpot's data model is a pre-built schema. Contacts, Companies, Deals, and Tickets are standard objects with fixed system properties (e.g., lifecyclestage, dealstage, hs_object_id). You can add custom properties, but you cannot change the fundamental object structure or the way associations work between standard objects. Custom objects require the Enterprise tier.

Attio's data model is an object-relational workspace you define yourself. It ships with standard objects—People, Companies, Deals, Workspaces, and Users—but every object is extensible with custom attributes, and you can create entirely new custom objects on any plan, within that plan's object cap. Relationships between objects are user-defined bidirectional attributes, not fixed system-level links. (docs.attio.com)

The critical architectural difference: Attio separates objects (entity truth) from lists (process state). A Deal exists as a standalone record in your workspace. To move that record through a workflow, you add it to a List, which creates an Entry. The kanban stage, status, and pipeline-specific data belong to the Entry, not the core record. This distinction dictates your entire migration strategy—you cannot simply migrate a Deal object; you must also create the List and the Entry linking the Deal to that List with the correct stage value. (docs.attio.com)

Concept	HubSpot	Attio
Core unit	Properties on fixed objects	Attributes on flexible objects
Relationships	Association definitions (system-managed)	Relationship attributes (user-defined, bidirectional)
Pipeline tracking	dealstage property + pipeline ID	Status attribute on Deals object or List entries
Multi-object links	Association labels (Professional and Enterprise)	Record reference attributes (any object)
Custom objects	Enterprise tier only	Every plan, within the object cap (3 Free, 5 Plus, 12 Pro, unlimited Enterprise)
Data enrichment	Third-party tools or paid add-ons	Built-in automatic enrichment from email/calendar sync
Lists vs. objects	Static/Active Lists (filter-based views)	Lists are a process layer on top of objects with their own attributes

What Transfers and What Doesn't

Not everything in HubSpot has an Attio equivalent. Knowing what will not transfer is as important as mapping what will.

Transfers cleanly:

• Contact/Company/Deal records with standard and custom properties
• Notes, tasks, and files (via Import2 or API — not CSV)
• Contact-to-Company associations
• Custom object records
• Pipeline stages (with manual value mapping)

Requires rebuilding:

• Workflows and automation — Attio has its own workflow engine but no import path for HubSpot workflows
• HubSpot Lists — Attio lists are structurally different; rebuild using Attio's filtering and list-attribute model
• Calculated properties — rebuild as formula attributes or workflow-driven calculations
• Lead scoring — rebuild using Attio AI attributes or workflow-based scoring

Does not transfer:

• Marketing email templates, sequences, and campaign data — Attio has no marketing suite
• Logged emails and engagement history — connect Gmail or Microsoft 365 after migration; Attio rebuilds communication timelines automatically from your inbox and calendar
• Call recordings — use Attio Call Intelligence going forward
• Form submissions and landing pages — Attio is not a marketing platform
• Reporting dashboards — rebuild in Attio's reporting views

HubSpot to Attio Object Mapping Matrix

Every HubSpot standard object has an Attio equivalent, but behavior and structure differ. The matrix below is the design pattern we recommend based on both platforms' documented models. Treat it as an engineering starting point, not a vendor-imposed rulebook.

HubSpot Object	Attio Target	Mapping Notes
Contacts	People	Direct map. Email is the unique key for deduplication. HubSpot lifecyclestage and hs_lead_status become status or select attributes. Attio's People can auto-link to Companies from email domains.
Companies	Companies	Direct map. Domain is the unique key for deduplication. Attio auto-enriches company records when domain is present. Attio requires the domains attribute as an array of strings.
Deals	Deals + List Entry	Deal stages require explicit value mapping. Attio uses a status attribute rather than HubSpot's dealstage + pipeline pair. The pipeline stage maps to a status attribute on the List Entry.
Tickets	Custom Object + List	No native Tickets object in Attio. Create a custom "Ticket" object and manage resolution workflow via a dedicated List.
Custom Objects	Custom Objects	One-to-one if schema aligns. Review attribute types — HubSpot custom object properties may need type conversion. See How to Migrate Custom Objects.
Products / Line Items	Custom Object or currency attributes	No native product catalog in Attio. Model as a custom object if you track products independently, or as currency attributes on Deals.
Notes	Notes	Transfers via Import2 or API. Attio's CSV importer does not support notes.
Tasks	Tasks	Transfers via Import2 or API. Ensure assignee mapping translates HubSpot Owner IDs to Attio workspace members, not Users.
Calls / Emails / Meetings	Not migrated	Do not migrate engagement history. Connect email and calendar to Attio post-migration; it rebuilds communication timelines automatically.
Lists (Static/Active)	Lists	Attio lists are structurally different — a process layer with their own attributes, not filtered views. Rebuild list logic in Attio.

HubSpot Property to Attio Attribute Type Mapping

Field mapping is where silent data loss happens. Exporting rows is easy; preserving match keys, statuses, owner semantics, and relationship context is what decides whether Attio stays usable after cutover. Export HubSpot property definitions as a separate workstream to preserve internal names, types, options, fill rate, and update-source metadata you will need for transformation logic. (knowledge.hubspot.com)

Every HubSpot property type maps to a specific Attio attribute type, but several require value transformation — not just a rename.

HubSpot Property Type	Attio Attribute Type	Transformation Required
Single-line text	Text	None
Multi-line text	Text	None (Attio text supports line breaks)
Number	Number	Check precision and rounding requirements on decimal values before import.
Dropdown select	Select	Option values must match exactly. Create options in Attio before import.
Multiple checkboxes	Multi-select	HubSpot exports as semicolon-separated strings (e.g., Option A;Option B). Your script must parse this into an array of objects for the Attio API.
Single checkbox (boolean)	Checkbox	Accepts true/false, 1/0.
Date picker	Date	HubSpot exports UNIX timestamps in milliseconds. Attio expects ISO 8601 (YYYY-MM-DD).
Date and time	Timestamp	Format as ISO 8601: YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ.
Currency (Deal Amount)	Currency	Attio currency attributes support only one currency per attribute. Normalize or split if your deals use multiple currencies.
HubSpot Owner	Actor reference field	Map by email to workspace members — not the Users object. Ensure all owners are invited to the Attio workspace before import.
Lifecycle Stage	Status or Select	Requires explicit value mapping. HubSpot's defaults (Subscriber, Lead, MQL, SQL, Opportunity, Customer, Evangelist) do not exist in Attio.
Deal Stage	Status (on Deals or List Entry)	Attio defaults to Lead, In Progress, Won, Lost. Create custom status options matching your HubSpot stages before import.
Deal Pipeline	No direct equivalent	If you run multiple pipelines, model each as a separate Attio list with list-specific status attributes, or tag pipeline membership with a select attribute.
Calculated / Rollup	Formula	Rebuild calculation logic manually.
Score	Number	Exports as numbers. Rebuild scoring logic using Attio workflows or AI attributes.
File / Attachment	Via Import2 or external URL	CSV import cannot handle file uploads. For API migration, store files externally and reference URLs in a text attribute.
Rich text	Text	Attio text attributes are plain text. Rich formatting (bold, links, lists) will be stripped or needs to be stored as markdown.
Phone number	Phone	Direct map.
Email	Email address	Direct map. Also the deduplication key on People records.
URL	Text	Attio text supports clickable URLs.
Association labels	Relationship attribute + optional Select	HubSpot association labels (e.g., "Decision Maker") need relationship attributes in Attio. Store role/label metadata in a separate select attribute if needed, or model through a custom junction object.
Company domain	Domain	HubSpot uses a single string. Attio uses an array of strings. Clean the HubSpot value (remove https://, www., trailing slashes) and format as [{ "domain": "example.com" }].

Two rules save the most pain during field mapping:

1. Keep workflow state separate from entity truth. Account lifecycle belongs on Company/Person or a list entry. Real opportunity progression belongs on Deals. HubSpot teams often overload a single property for routing, reporting, and pipeline motion — Attio's model lets you separate these cleanly. (docs.attio.com)
2. Create a legacy HubSpot ID field on every migrated object, even if end users never see it. This is the key you will use for audits, delta backfills, re-runs, and rollback plans.

The Migration Reality: Preserving Data Integrity

This is the most critical section of this guide. Many teams assume that a migration is simply exporting a CSV file and re-uploading it.

In reality, migrating from a legacy system to a relational database like Attio requires careful data engineering. Here are the most common technical challenges.

1. The Challenge of "Timeline" Preservation

• The Context: Your sales team relies on context. They need to know that a client was emailed three years ago, or that a deal stalled last November.
• The Risk: Standard CSV imports strip the metadata from notes and emails. When you import this data into a new system without explicit timestamp handling, it defaults to the date of import.
• The Consequence: You log in to Attio on Day 1 and every note, call, and email appears to have been created "Today." The historical context is lost.
• The Technical Fix: Attio's create-a-note endpoint accepts a created_at override intended for backdating during migrations, so pass each HubSpot note's original timestamp (hs_timestamp) instead of letting it default to the import time (docs.attio.com). Records are different: the create-a-record endpoint does not accept created_at, and Attio sets it to the import time (docs.attio.com). For companies, people and deals, write HubSpot's createdate into a custom date attribute such as "Original created date", and report on that instead.

2. Complex Relationships and "Flat" Data

• The Context: In HubSpot, a "Deal" is automatically associated with a "Company" and multiple "Contacts."
• The Risk: When you export data, it comes out in flat spreadsheets. One sheet for Deals, one for Contacts. The associations between them are represented by internal ID numbers that mean nothing outside of HubSpot.
• The Consequence: If these IDs are not resolved and re-mapped during import, you end up with orphaned Deals—records that exist in Attio but aren't linked to the people or companies they belong to.
• The Technical Fix: HubSpot's Associations API (GET /crm/v3/associations/{fromObjectType}/{toObjectType}/batch/read) lets you retrieve all association pairs before export. You build a lookup table: HubSpot Contact ID → Attio Record ID. Every Deal import payload then references the already-created Attio records rather than the original HubSpot IDs. This must be done in dependency order: Companies first, then Contacts, then Deals.

3. Custom Object Nuance

• The Context: You may have used HubSpot's "Deals" object to track things that aren't really deals—like "Onboarding Projects" or "Renewals"—simply because you didn't want to pay for Enterprise Custom Objects.
• The Opportunity: In Attio, these should be separated into their own specific Objects.
• The Challenge: This requires splitting your data. You need transformation logic that says: "If the Pipeline is 'Onboarding', write this record to the 'Projects' object in Attio. If the Pipeline is 'Renewals', write it to the 'Renewals' object." This cannot be done with a CSV upload. It requires a script with conditional routing per record.

Edge Cases That Break Migrations

Beyond the core challenges, several edge cases will silently corrupt your data if not accounted for during transformation.

Multi-currency deals

Attio currency attributes support only one currency per attribute. If your HubSpot deals span USD, EUR, and GBP, you cannot store them in a single Deal value field. Options: normalize all values to one currency before import, or create separate currency attributes per currency with a select attribute to tag which is active.

Multiple HubSpot pipelines

HubSpot allows multiple deal pipelines, each with its own stage definitions. Attio Deals have a single status attribute. If you run separate pipelines for "New Business" and "Renewals," the cleanest approach splits them into separate Attio lists with list-specific status attributes, or models them as separate custom objects (e.g., a Deals object and a Renewals object).

Contact Owner mapping

HubSpot stores owners as user IDs. Attio owner fields map to workspace members by email. Before importing, ensure every HubSpot owner has a corresponding Attio workspace member. Unmapped owners become empty fields, silently breaking assignment-based views and workflows.

Associations with labels

HubSpot Professional and Enterprise accounts allow labels on associations (e.g., a Contact associated with a Company as "Decision Maker"). Attio relationship attributes are bidirectional links without built-in label support. To preserve this metadata, create a select attribute on the People or Companies object to store the role/label, or model the relationship through a custom junction object.

Enriched field authority

Attio auto-populates enriched person and company attributes, and these cannot be overwritten by API. If a HubSpot field must remain the source of truth after migration, store its value in your own custom attribute rather than writing to an enriched field. (docs.attio.com)

Engagement history and emails

Do not migrate logged emails, meetings, or call activities from HubSpot. Attio rebuilds communication intelligence by syncing directly with Gmail or Microsoft 365. After migration, connect your team's inboxes and Attio populates interaction timelines — including historical emails already in those inboxes. Migrating HubSpot engagement records creates duplicates and inaccurate timelines.

What a Bad Migration Looks Like

Understanding failure modes is as important as understanding the right approach. Here are the most common ways this migration goes wrong independently of how you approach it:

1. Timestamps default to import date. The team doesn't notice until weeks later when they run a "last contacted" filter and the data is wrong.
2. Association IDs are not resolved. Deals exist but aren't linked to Companies or Contacts. Pipeline reports show deals with no owner or company.
3. Custom field types mismatch. HubSpot's multi-select fields export as pipe-delimited strings. If you import these as plain text into Attio, you lose the ability to filter by individual values.
4. Duplicate records created. Re-running an import without upsert logic (Attio's assert endpoint, keyed on email or domain) creates double entries or failed writes, and records with no email or domain have no dedupe key at all.
5. Notes migrated without author attribution. HubSpot notes carry an owner ID. If this isn't mapped to the equivalent Attio user, all notes appear as created by the integration user.

Extracting Data from HubSpot and Loading into Attio

When planning an export-import workflow, understanding the constraints of both systems is critical.

How to extract data from HubSpot

You have three extraction paths, each with different trade-offs.

1. UI Export HubSpot's native export handles small datasets. Export from any object view as CSV (no column limit), XLSX (16,384-column limit), or XLS (256-column limit). You can run 300 UI exports per rolling 24-hour period with a maximum of 3 concurrent exports. CSV and XLSX exports over 1,000,000 rows split into multiple files inside a ZIP archive. By default, an export includes only the properties and associations in the current view, capped at 1,000 associated record IDs per association column. To preserve Contact-Company or Deal-Contact links, customize the export to include all properties and associations. (knowledge.hubspot.com)

2. Exports API HubSpot's Exports API gives programmatic control. You specify object type, property list, filters, and format. The API caps association columns at 1,000 per row by default. API exports are limited to 30 per rolling 24-hour window with 1 running at a time. (developers.hubspot.com)

3. CRM API (Direct Read) For full control, read records directly from HubSpot's CRM API endpoints (GET /crm/v3/objects/{objectType}). This is the approach we use at ClonePartner for production migrations because it gives you pagination control, association traversal, and programmatic rate-limit handling. For privately distributed apps, HubSpot's burst limits range from 100 requests per 10 seconds (Free/Starter) to 190 requests per 10 seconds (Professional/Enterprise). (developers.hubspot.com) The CRM Search API is throttled separately at five requests per second and 200 results per page. (developers.hubspot.com) Use search for targeted lookups and dedupe checks, not for pulling the entire CRM; for full extractions, use object list endpoints with after cursors. Daily caps also apply: 250,000 requests (Free/Starter), 625,000 (Professional), and 1,000,000 (Enterprise). (developers.hubspot.com)

Standard object endpoints do not return associations by default. To get links between Contacts and Companies, append ?associations=company to your query or use the dedicated v4 Associations API.

How to load data into Attio

1. Import2 (Built-in Migration Tool) Attio offers a migration tool powered by Import2 for teams on paid plans. Access it from Workspace settings → Migrate CRM → HubSpot → Migrate. Import2 handles companies, people, deals, custom objects, notes, tasks, files, and contact-company associations in a single run. It auto-maps fields and lets you review mappings before execution. (attio.com) Limitations: Source objects can map only to Attio objects, not lists. Import2 will not update attribute values on records that already exist in Attio. It does not migrate workflows, email templates, or engagement history. (attio.com)

2. Attio CSV Import Attio's CSV importer handles Companies, People, Deals, and custom objects. Attio deduplicates on domain for Companies and email address for People. (attio.com) Limitations: 100,000 rows, 100 columns, and 100 MB per file. Empty values are skipped rather than used as overwrites. CSV import does not support notes or tasks, and it has no way to upload file attachments. Relationships are linked only through unique attributes (email for People, domain for Companies): one file can link People to Companies or Deals to Companies, but a file covering Companies, Deals, and People needs two separate imports. (attio.com)

3. Attio API (Programmatic Load) The Attio REST API (https://api.attio.com/v2) gives full control over record creation, attribute updates, and relationship linking. Rate limits: 100 read requests per second, 25 write requests per second. The List records and List entries endpoints also apply score-based limits, so complex filtered queries on large datasets get throttled regardless of request count. (docs.attio.com) At 25 writes per second, loading 100,000 records takes a minimum of ~67 minutes assuming zero errors and no backoff.

Migration Methods Compared

Method	Best For	Handles Associations	Handles Notes/Files	Effort
Import2	Teams on paid plans wanting a quick migration	Yes (auto-links)	Yes	Low
CSV Import	Small datasets, simple schemas, supplemental imports	Partial (domain/email matching only)	No	Medium
API Script	Large datasets, complex schemas, custom object relationships	Full control	Via separate API calls	High
ETL Pipeline (Airbyte, Fivetran → staging → Attio API)	Teams with existing data infrastructure	Full control	Full control	High
Migration service (ClonePartner)	Teams that want accuracy guarantees without engineering overhead	Full control	Yes	Low (for you)

Compliance and Security During Migration

For B2B teams, a CRM migration has legal surface area that is easy to overlook.

GDPR (Article 28): If you process personal data of EU residents, transferring that data to a new processor (Attio) triggers Data Processing Agreement requirements. Ensure you have a signed DPA with Attio before migrating. Review Attio's sub-processor list to confirm it meets your data residency requirements.

Data Residency: HubSpot offers EU data hosting on specific tiers. Attio's data hosting region should be confirmed against your requirements before migration begins, not after.

Encryption in Transit: All data transfers via the HubSpot and Attio APIs use TLS. If you are using an intermediary script or migration service, confirm that data is not written to unencrypted storage at any point during the transfer.

Access Control During Migration: Limit API key permissions to the minimum required scope. Rotate credentials immediately after migration is complete. If a third-party migration service is involved, ensure they operate under a written data processing agreement and do not retain your data post-migration.

CCPA: If you have California-based contacts, ensure your migration approach does not create unauthorized copies of personal data. Temporary staging environments used during migration should be cleaned up and confirmed deleted after go-live.

A Strategic Guide to the "New Stack"

Moving to Attio often means unbundling your "All-in-One" suite. While this requires more setup, it allows you to choose best-in-class tools for every function. Here is the recommended architecture for a modern B2B sales team in 2026:

1. Forms & Data Collection

HubSpot: Native Forms.

The Attio Stack: Tally.so or Typeform.

• Why: Both offer webhook-based submission routing that connects cleanly to Attio via Make.com. Tally has a free tier; Typeform has a larger template library. The choice depends on form complexity and budget.

2. Outbound & Email Sequencing

HubSpot: Sequences.

The Attio Stack: Instantly.ai or Smartlead.

• Why: Dedicated email infrastructure tools include domain warm-up, deliverability monitoring, and inbox rotation—capabilities HubSpot Sequences do not offer. This matters if cold outbound volume is significant.

3. Automation & Orchestration

HubSpot: Workflows.

The Attio Stack: Make.com (formerly Integromat).

• Why: Make.com has a native Attio module and supports conditional branching, data transformation, and multi-step workflows. It connects Attio to Slack, Stripe, and your product database. For teams with higher volume or more complex logic, n8n (self-hosted) is an alternative with no per-operation pricing.

Step-by-Step Migration Checklist

Before you begin your migration, review this checklist to ensure readiness.

1. Stakeholder Alignment: Have you informed the Sales and Success teams that their interface will change?
2. Audit your HubSpot data: Identify redundant, obsolete, and trivial (ROT) records. Export a property inventory from HubSpot Settings → Properties and flag which ones you actually need. Delete or archive unused properties. (knowledge.hubspot.com)
3. Design your Attio schema: Map HubSpot objects to Attio objects. Decide which entities become objects and which workflow states belong on lists or list entries. Do not replicate HubSpot's structure if Attio's model lets you improve it.
4. Create Attio attributes and objects: Build the target schema before importing any data. Create all status options, select options, custom objects, and relationship attributes. This prevents the importer from auto-creating attributes with incorrect types.
5. Pre-flight Compliance & Credentials: Sign a DPA with Attio, confirm data residency, and create minimum-scope API keys for both platforms.
6. Export from HubSpot (with Rollback Snapshot): Use UI export for under 50K records, Exports API for larger sets, or CRM API for complex schemas with deep associations. Run a full associations export before starting. This is your only rollback point.
7. Transform and clean: Normalize currency values. Map HubSpot stage values to Attio status options. Parse multi-select semicolons into arrays. Convert UNIX timestamps to ISO 8601. Ensure owner emails match Attio workspace members.
8. Import in dependency order: Companies first (keyed on domain), People second (keyed on email), Deals third (linked via relationship attributes), then custom objects, notes, and tasks. Importing People before Companies can cause Attio to auto-generate new Company records from email domains instead of linking to the ones you meant to migrate. (docs.attio.com)
9. Validate: Compare record counts between HubSpot and Attio for every object. Spot-check 50–100 records for field accuracy. Verify that associations survived: open a Company in Attio and confirm its People and Deals are linked.
10. Connect inboxes: Have your team connect Gmail or Microsoft 365 to Attio. This triggers automatic enrichment and rebuilds communication timelines.
11. Run in parallel: Keep HubSpot read-only for 1–2 weeks while your team validates Attio in production. Do not decommission until you are confident.

Links to Mapping Matrix and Troubleshooting Guide

To bypass the trial-and-error phase of your migration, we have compiled the exact schemas and error codes you will encounter:

• Data Migration Mapping Cheat Sheet: A complete field-level mapping reference for Contacts, Companies, Deals, and Custom Objects.
• Migration Troubleshooting Guide: Common validation errors, rate limit handling, and payload examples for REST APIs.

Call-to-Action for Migration Consultation

There are two primary ways to approach this migration.

The Internal Path:

Your team manages the export, cleaning, and import of data. This is a viable option for very small teams with simple data. For established companies, it typically requires dedicated engineering time to handle timestamp preservation, association mapping, and custom object splitting. The failure modes described above are real and recoverable — but only if you have a complete pre-migration snapshot to restore from.

Read our Blog on In-House vs. Outsourced Data Migration

The Partner-Led Path:

You engage ClonePartner. We write custom scripts against the HubSpot and Attio APIs, handle timestamp preservation, association re-mapping, and custom object splitting, and provide a 30-day post-migration support window for any issues that surface after go-live.

Your CRM data is the memory of your business. It deserves to be treated with care.

Resources

• Field Mapping Template
• Attio Guide