Advanced filtering for HubSpot data: Methods, limitations and better alternatives

HubSpot’s filtering capabilities often fall short when you need detailed data analysis. 

While the platform offers basic, advanced, and custom filtering options, each comes with significant limitations that can eat into your productivity. 

Let’s explore how to maximize HubSpot filtering and overcome its limitations.

Filtering methods in HubSpot

HubSpot provides three primary filtering approaches: basic, advanced, and custom filters. Each serves different purposes, with increasing complexity and functionality. However, all three methods have constraints that can hamper your data analysis capabilities.

#1 Basic filtering in HubSpot

Basic filters in HubSpot offer quick, straightforward data sorting using default properties. While easy to use, they severely restrict your ability to segment data meaningfully or perform complex analyses across multiple data points.

The primary limitation? You can’t combine criteria with AND/OR operators or filter across different objects. This makes comprehensive data analysis nearly impossible using basic filters alone.

Setting up basic filtering in HubSpot

To implement basic filtering in HubSpot:

1. Navigate to your desired object (Contacts, Companies, Deals, etc.)

2. Click the “Filter” or “All filters” dropdown menu
3. Select a property to filter by (e.g., “Contact Owner,” “Last Activity Date”)

4. Choose your filtering criteria (e.g., “Me,” “All deactivated and removed owners,” “etc.”)
5. Click out of the drop down to view your results

#2 Advanced filtering in HubSpot

Advanced filtering expands your options by allowing multiple criteria combinations using AND/OR logic. 

This approach becomes essential when you need to segment data based on several properties simultaneously.

However, these filters quickly become unwieldy with complex logic requirements. Performance issues often emerge with large datasets, and the interface can become confusing when managing multiple filter conditions.

Setting up advanced filtering in HubSpot

To create advanced filters in HubSpot:

1. Go to your object list (Contacts, Deals, etc.)
2. Click “Advanced Filters” in the top-right corner

3. Select your first property to filter by

4. Define the condition (e.g., “is greater than,” “is between”)

5. Add additional criteria using AND/OR operators:
   • AND: Records must meet all criteria
   • OR: Records must meet at least one criterion
6. Apply the filter to see your results

For instance, you might create a filter showing contacts where:

• Industry = Technology AND
• Last Activity Date is within 30 days OR
• Lead Score > 50

#3 Custom filtering in HubSpot

Custom filters provide the most flexibility within HubSpot’s native capabilities, particularly for reports and workflows. They allow for property-based filtering using custom fields and more complex logic structures.

The downside? Custom filters often encounter API and integration issues, especially with custom objects. Fields like hubspot_owner_id may not populate correctly, leading to inaccurate filtering results and unreliable data.

Setting up custom filtering in HubSpot

To implement custom filtering:

1. Navigate to HubSpot’s custom report builder or workflows

2. Set up a workflow trigger based on specific criteria
3. Add actions to edit record properties or create new fields
4. Use AND/OR logic to establish detailed filtering rules

For example, to filter leads with scores above 1000:

• Create a workflow with an enrollment trigger “HubSpot Score > 1000”
• Add an action updating a boolean field (e.g., “High Value Lead = Yes”)
• Use this field as a custom filter in your reports

Limitations to Native HubSpot Filtering

Despite HubSpot’s filtering options, several significant limitations hamper RevOps teams trying to perform sophisticated data analysis:

1. Limited Advanced Calculations

HubSpot lacks the ability to filter by calculated fields. You can’t create formulas that combine multiple properties or perform mathematical operations as part of your filtering criteria.

For example, you can’t automatically filter deals based on a calculated win probability that combines lead score, engagement metrics, and historical conversion rates. This forces RevOps teams to export data for manual calculations elsewhere.

2. Weak Cross-Object Filtering

Relationships between different objects (contacts, companies, deals) are difficult to filter effectively. HubSpot struggles with queries like “show me all contacts associated with deals that closed this quarter from companies in the healthcare industry.”

This limitation makes it nearly impossible to create comprehensive views that span multiple object types—a critical need for RevOps professionals trying to understand the complete customer journey.

3. No Fuzzy Matching or Partial Text Matching

HubSpot filtering doesn’t support fuzzy matching for text fields. This means slight variations in text (typos, formatting differences) won’t be captured by your filters.

For example, searching for “healthcare” won’t match “health care” or “HealthCare” unless you create multiple filter conditions—increasing complexity and potentially missing relevant data.

4. No “OR” Logic Across Groups

While you can use AND/OR logic within filter groups, HubSpot doesn’t allow OR logic between separate filter groups. This limitation forces you to create multiple separate views for what should be a single data set.

RevOps teams often need to combine complex conditions—like “show me all deals that are either (in the healthcare industry AND over $50k) OR (in the financial industry AND over $100k).” HubSpot can’t handle this type of filtering natively.

Overcoming HubSpot Filtering Limitations with Coefficient

Coefficient bridges the gap between HubSpot’s limitations and your advanced filtering needs by connecting your CRM data directly to spreadsheets—where filtering capabilities are virtually unlimited.

With Coefficient’s HubSpot integration, RevOps teams can:

1. Pull live HubSpot data into spreadsheets without manual exports or CSV downloads
2. Create advanced calculated fields using familiar spreadsheet formulas
3. Filter across multiple HubSpot objects by joining related data in one view
4. Implement complex filtering logic that HubSpot can’t handle natively
5. Automate data refreshes to ensure your filtered views always show current information

For example, you could filter contacts based on a calculated engagement score that combines email opens, website visits, and form submissions—something impossible in native HubSpot.

Let’s see how this works in practice with a common challenge facing RevOps teams today.

Real-World Example: Executive Deal Visibility

As outlined in our HubSpot Deals Dashboard guide, the disconnect between HubSpot’s native interface and executive needs creates unnecessary work for RevOps teams.

The problem: Your executives need clear visibility into deal pipelines but don’t have time to navigate HubSpot’s interface between meetings. This leads to constant requests for screenshots, explanations, and ad-hoc analysis.

The solution: Coefficient connects your HubSpot deal data directly to spreadsheets where executives already work, giving them self-service access to live data without needing to learn a new system.

Explore Pre-Built HubSpot Dashboards

Why start from scratch? Coefficient offers ready-to-use HubSpot Dashboard Templates that solve common reporting challenges:

• Sales Pipeline Analysis
• Marketing Lead Flow Reporting
• Customer Retention Tracking
• Cross-Object Performance Metrics

These templates connect directly to your HubSpot instance, requiring minimal setup while delivering immediate insights that would take days to build in HubSpot’s native reporting tools.

Get more from your HubSpot data

HubSpot’s native filtering capabilities can only take you so far. When you need deeper insights, more complex filtering, or cross-system data analysis, Coefficient bridges the gap between HubSpot’s limitations and your analytical needs.

Stop struggling with HubSpot’s filtering constraints. Start leveraging the power of spreadsheets with live data connections. Your RevOps team already knows how to use spreadsheets—now they can use them with real-time HubSpot data.

Ready to transform how you filter and analyze your HubSpot data? Get started with Coefficient today and experience the difference that unlimited filtering capabilities can make for your team.

Frequently asked questions

How do I filter records in HubSpot?

In HubSpot, filter records by navigating to your desired object list, clicking the “Filter” button, and selecting properties and conditions. For more complex filtering, use the “Advanced Filters” option to combine multiple criteria with AND/OR logic. Custom filters can be created in workflows and saved views for recurring use.

Can I filter HubSpot data by calculated fields?

HubSpot doesn’t support filtering by calculated fields natively. To overcome this limitation, you can use Coefficient to pull your HubSpot data into a spreadsheet, create calculated fields using formulas, filter based on those calculations, and then push results back to HubSpot if needed.

How can I filter across multiple HubSpot objects?

HubSpot’s native cross-object filtering is limited. For comprehensive cross-object filtering, use Coefficient to import data from multiple HubSpot objects into a spreadsheet, where you can create relationships and apply filters across objects using standard spreadsheet functions.

How do I clean up data in HubSpot using filters?

To clean HubSpot data using filters:

1. Create a filtered view showing potential duplicate or incomplete records
2. Export this data to a spreadsheet for cleaning
3. Use Coefficient to maintain a live connection to HubSpot while cleaning
4. Apply spreadsheet functions to standardize, merge, or update records
5. Push the cleaned data back to HubSpot using Coefficient’s writeback feature

This approach maintains data integrity while providing more powerful cleaning tools than HubSpot offers natively.