How to Merge Duplicate Contacts in HubSpot Without Losing Data

Duplicate contacts are one of the fastest ways to damage trust in your CRM. Sales teams end up calling the same lead twice, marketing sends duplicate emails, and reporting becomes unreliable.

HubSpot allows you to merge contacts manually or in bulk, but choosing the wrong record can overwrite data, break workflow enrollment, or impact attribution. These risks increase as your database grows.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to merge contacts in HubSpot safely, from manual merges to bulk and automated deduplication, and when each method works best:

• How to manually merge contacts in HubSpot from the contact record
• How to merge contacts using HubSpot's duplicate management tool
• How to bulk merge contacts in HubSpot with the duplicate management tool
• How to merge HubSpot contacts using Koalify CRM cards
• How to bulk merge HubSpot contacts with the Koalify workflow action

For a broader look at how to keep your CRM duplicate-free, check out our Ultimate Guide to HubSpot Deduplication. You might also be interested in our step-by-step posts on how to merge companies in HubSpot and how to merge deals in HubSpot.

How to Merge Contacts Manually from a HubSpot Contact Record ✋

When you only have a few duplicates to resolve, you can use HubSpot’s native contact merge feature directly from a contact record.

Steps to Merge Contacts:

1. Start by navigating to the contact you want to keep.
   Make sure you know which contact is the duplicate.

2. In the top left of the contact page, click Actions → Merge.
   
   

3. Click Select contact → search for the duplicate → choose the correct record.
   
   

4. Choose the property values you'd like to keep.
   
   

5. Click Merge.
   
   

What happens when contacts are merged in HubSpot:

• The email address from the primary contact is kept.

• For most properties, values from the primary contact are used, unless you choose otherwise. 

• All associated records and timeline activity from both contacts are combined.

• Both contacts are unenrolled from workflows. To let merged contacts re-enter workflows, check your workflow settings.

• The merged contact gets a new Contact ID, but the original IDs remain accessible.

✅ Pros:

• Easy to use

• You choose which values to keep

❌ Cons:

• Takes time: at least 6 clicks per merge

• Not scalable for large volumes since you need to spot duplicates manually

How to Merge Duplicate Contacts with HubSpot’s Duplicate Management Tool 🔧

If you have a Professional-tier Hub, you get access to HubSpot’s Duplicate Management tool, which scans your CRM and flags potential duplicates.

HubSpot automatically scans your database daily and flags potential duplicates by comparing the following property values:

• Contacts: First Name, Last Name, Email address, IP country, Phone number, Zip Code, and Company Name.
• Companies: Company Domain Name, Company Name, Country/Region, Phone Number, and Industry.

HubSpot shows up to 2,000 duplicate contact (or 5,000 for Data Hub Pro, 10,000 for Enterprise).

Want to learn how you can identify more duplicates? Read our guide on how to find duplicates in HubSpot.

Steps:

1. Start by navigating to the duplicate management tool

   1. Contacts → Actions → Manage Duplicates

      
      

2. Click Review next to the contact you'd like to evaluate in the duplicate management tool
   
   

    

3. Choose the property values you'd like to keep.
   
   

4. Click Merge and review next.
   
   

✅ Pros:

• Easy and guided process

• You control which data to keep

❌ Cons:

• Only one contact pair can be merged at a time

• Suggestions may not always be accurate, so manual review is needed

• Limited to contact and company deduplication

How to Bulk Merge Contacts in HubSpot with the Duplicate Management Tool 🛠️

If you're using Data Hub Professional or Enterprise, you can speed up cleanup by using the Duplicate Management tool to bulk merge up to 50 contacts at a time.

Want to explore all bulk deduplication strategies? Read our full guide to bulk merging HubSpot duplicates.

Steps:

1. Start by navigating to the duplicate management tool

   1. Contacts → Actions → Manage Duplicates

   2. Data Management → Number of Duplicates
      
      

2. Use the checkboxes to select up to 50 duplicate contacts, then click Review.
   
   

    

3. Choose your merge criteria to determine which contacts should be primary duplicate.
   
   

4. Click Merge All to complete the bulk merge.

✅ Pros:

• Speeds up deduplication

• Merge up to 50 contacts at once

❌ Cons:

• Duplicate suggestions may be inaccurate, so you may accidentally merge unrelated records

• Limited control over which property values are retained (5 options for selecting the primary) 

• Only available with Data Hub Pro or Enterprise

When Merging Contacts in HubSpot Becomes Risky

Merging contacts works well when duplicates are clear and limited. It becomes risky when contacts have different email addresses, conflicting lifecycle stages, or active workflow enrollment.

Common high-risk scenarios include:
- Contacts with multiple email addresses
- Contacts enrolled in active workflows
- Conflicting marketing subscription statuses
- Large volumes where manual review isn’t feasible

In these cases, bulk or rule-based deduplication helps reduce the risk of overwriting important data or keeping the bad email address.

How to Merge HubSpot Contacts Using Koalify CRM Cards🖼️

Use the Koalify duplicate card to quickly merge contacts right from the contact record, perfect for customer-facing teams who can spot and merge duplicates in real time.

Steps:

1. Start by navigating to the contact you want to merge

2. In the Koalify duplicate card, click Actions → Merge in current contact
   
   

3. Confirm the merge when prompted.
   
   

✅ Pros:

• Duplicates are automatically suggested, no need to search manually

• Full control over how duplicates are flagged and who can view them

• Perfect for customer-facing teams engaging with active contacts

• Simple and intuitive to use

❌ Cons:

• You can only merge one contact at a time

• Not scalable for large volumes since it’s a manual process

How to Bulk Merge HubSpot Contacts with the Koalify Workflow Action 🤖

Need to clean up your database at scale? The Koalify “Merge Duplicate Contact” workflow action lets you bulk merge contacts, whether for a one-time cleanup or ongoing automation.

Steps:

1. Create a new contact workflow to merge HubSpot contacts in bulk

   1. Navigate to Automations → Workflows

   2. Click Create workflow and select the option From scratch

   3. Choose Contact-based, start with a Blank workflow and click Next
       
      

2. Add the "Merge Duplicate Contact" action

   1. Click on the ➕ plus icon to add a workflow action

   2. Search for "Koalify" to find our workflow action

   3. Select the Merge Duplicate Contact action and click Save
      
      

3. Enroll contacts in the workflow for bulk merging

   1. Use manual enrollment for full control: ideal for initial bulk merges

   2. Use automated triggers to automatically dedupe contacts
      
      

✅ Pros:

• Unlimited bulk merges

• Simple and intuitive to use

• Full control over which duplicates get merged and which record becomes the primary

• Great for initial clean-ups and ongoing automated deduplication

❌ Cons:

• Requires at least one Professional-tier Hub to access workflows

Conclusion: Choose the Right Merge Method for Your Team

Merging duplicate contacts in HubSpot isn’t a one-size-fits-all task. The right approach depends on the size of your database, the tools you have access to, and how your team works.

• For low volumes, manual merging from the contact record or using HubSpot’s Duplicate Management Tool offers precision and control.

• For growing databases, Koalify’s CRM Cards and automated workflows make it easier to merge contacts at scale while reducing manual effort and risk.

Ready to simplify your contact merges?
Try Koalify’s contact merging tools for free and take the hassle out of managing HubSpot duplicates.

The table below compares the most common ways to merge contacts in HubSpot based on control, risk, and scalability.

Frequently Asked Questions