Duplicate Contacts in HubSpot? How to Fix Them

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Introduction

If you’ve ever opened your HubSpot CRM and noticed the same person appearing multiple times in your contact list, you’re not alone. Duplicate contacts are one of the most common issues businesses face in HubSpot.

At first glance, it might not seem like a big deal, just a few extra records in your database. But over time, duplicates can pile up and cause serious problems for your sales, marketing, and customer service teams. From wasted time to inaccurate reports, duplicate contacts can silently drain your efficiency.

The good news? HubSpot provides powerful tools to identify and fix duplicates. And with the right strategy, you can prevent them from happening in the first place.

In this guide, we’ll explore:

  • Why duplicate contacts occur in HubSpot

  • The problems they create for your business

  • How to identify and merge duplicates

  • Best practices to prevent them going forward

  • Expert solutions when duplicates get too complex

If you’re struggling with a cluttered CRM, Mountainise can help you streamline your HubSpot system and eliminate duplicate records. Book your free consultation with Mountainise today.

1. Why Do Duplicate Contacts Happen in HubSpot?

Duplicate records usually sneak into HubSpot without you realizing it. Here are the most common causes:

1. Manual Data Entry

Sales or support reps sometimes manually add contacts, and small mistakes, like typing john.doe@gmail.com vs johndoe@gmail.com create duplicates.

2. Imports from Spreadsheets or Other CRMs

When migrating from another CRM or uploading large contact lists, small inconsistencies can create multiple records for the same person.

3. Form Submissions

If a lead fills out multiple forms using slightly different details (like a work email vs. a personal email), HubSpot may treat them as separate contacts.

4. Integrations & APIs

Third-party tools and APIs often send contact data into HubSpot. If those tools don’t match contacts by unique identifiers, duplicates appear.

Need help with HubSpot integrations? Check out our HubSpot Implementation Services to ensure clean data from the start.

2. Why Duplicate Contacts Are a Serious Problem

It’s easy to underestimate the damage duplicate contacts can cause. Here’s why they matter:

  • Sales Confusion: Two sales reps might contact the same lead without realizing it. This creates a poor customer experience.

  • Skewed Reporting: Duplicates distort your CRM data, making it look like you have more leads than you really do.

  • Workflow Inefficiency: Automation triggers may fire twice, sending duplicate emails or tasks.

  • Higher Costs: If you’re paying HubSpot by contact volume, duplicates waste your budget.

Think of your CRM as the brain of your business. Duplicates are like “bad signals” that confuse your system.

3. How to Identify Duplicate Contacts in HubSpot

HubSpot provides built-in features to find duplicates:

Duplicate Management Tool

  • Navigate to Contacts > Actions > Manage Duplicates.

  • HubSpot automatically flags potential duplicates using AI that compares names, emails, and company details.

CRM Reports

Custom reports can highlight unusual patterns (like multiple contacts from the same email domain).

Signs of Duplicates

  • Duplicate email addresses in your database

  • Leads receiving duplicate marketing emails

  • Sales reps complaining about overlapping contacts

Not sure how to set this up? Mountainise can run a CRM audit to identify and clean duplicates efficiently.

4. How to Fix Duplicate Contacts in HubSpot

Now, let’s fix the problem.

Option 1: Manual Merge

  • Open the duplicate record.

  • Click Actions > Merge.

  • Select the primary record to keep.

  • HubSpot will combine the records, keeping the most recent information.

Option 2: Use HubSpot’s Manage Duplicates Tool

  • Review flagged duplicates in bulk.

  • Merge them with just a few clicks.

Option 3: Workflow Prevention

  • Create workflows that enforce unique identifiers.

  • Example: Prevent form submissions with duplicate email addresses.

Option 4: Advanced Solutions (API + SQL)

For large-scale databases, manual merging isn’t practical. Developers can use HubSpot’s Merge API combined with SQL analysis to automatically detect and merge duplicates at scale.

This is where Mountainise comes in. We’ve helped businesses eliminate thousands of duplicate contacts using custom HubSpot + SQL solutions. Talk to our experts today.

5. How to Prevent Duplicate Contacts in HubSpot

Fixing duplicates is one thing but preventing them is even more important.

Best Practices for Prevention

  1. Use Email as a Unique Identifier: Ensure all imports and forms map correctly to the email property.

  2. Clean Data Before Importing: Remove duplicates in Excel or Google Sheets before uploading.

  3. Standardize Data Entry: Train sales reps to follow consistent entry formats.

  4. Automate with Workflows: Block duplicate form submissions.

  5. Schedule Regular Audits: Run duplicate checks monthly.

Want a preventive CRM strategy? Explore our RevOps Consulting Services.

6. Real-Life Example: Fixing HubSpot Duplicate Records

One of our clients, a fast-growing SaaS company in San Francisco, came to us with over 10,000 duplicate contacts clogging their HubSpot CRM. Their sales team was frustrated, and marketing campaigns were hitting the same people twice.

Here’s how Mountainise solved it:

  • Conducted a data audit to identify duplicate patterns.

  • Used SQL queries to filter out duplicates.

  • Applied the HubSpot Merge API for bulk clean-up.

  • Build preventive workflows to stop future duplicates.

Result? The client’s CRM is now 100% clean, their reporting accuracy improved, and their sales reps have more confidence in the system.

7. Why Work with Mountainise?

At Mountainise, we specialize in helping businesses get the most out of HubSpot. Our services include:

  • HubSpot Implementation & Integration

  • CRM Data Cleanup & Optimization

  • RevOps Strategy for Growth

  • Custom API Solutions for HubSpot

We don’t just fix duplicates, we build scalable CRM systems that grow with your business.

Learn more about our HubSpot Services.

Conclusion

Duplicate contacts may seem like a small inconvenience, but in reality, they can create big challenges for your sales, marketing, and customer success teams.

The key takeaways:

  • Duplicates happen due to manual entry, imports, forms, and integrations.

  • They lead to wasted time, higher costs, and poor customer experience.

  • HubSpot provides tools to merge and manage duplicates.

  • With the right strategy, you can prevent them altogether.

If you’re tired of dealing with messy data, let Mountainise help you build a clean, reliable HubSpot CRM.

Book your free consultation today and discover how we can transform your CRM into a growth engine.

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