Side-by-side comparison · Marketing & Ads
ActiveCampaign vs Foreplay vs HubSpot
Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.
Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.
At a glance
Pick it if: Small and mid-sized businesses that want email automations doing the follow-up for them.
Pick it if: Media buyers, creative strategists and agencies who brief ads for a living.
Pick it if: Service businesses, agencies and B2B teams that need contacts, deals and marketing in one system.
Overview
| Attribute | ActiveCampaign | Foreplay | HubSpot |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Email marketing and automation for small businesses, with AI built in. | Save competitors' ads, spot trends and turn them into briefs for your next creative. | A free CRM with AI agents that handle leads, support and content for you. |
| Pricing model | Paid | Paid | Freemium |
| Starting price | See website | $59/mo | From $800/mo |
| Free plan | No | No | Yes |
| Works with Claude Code | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | ActiveCampaign | Foreplay | HubSpot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 3.8 | 4.2Winner | 4.1 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 3.5 | 4.5 | 4.0 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.5 | 4.0 | 5.0 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 3.0 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.0 | 4.5 | 4.0 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | ActiveCampaign | Foreplay | HubSpot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | No | No | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | No | Yes |
| Desktop app | No | No | No |
| Browser extension | – | Yes | Yes |
| API access | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Open source or self-hosted | No | No | No |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | – | – | Yes |
| Understands images | – | Yes | – |
| Makes images | Yes | No | Yes |
| Makes video | No | No | No |
| Writes code | No | No | No |
| Runs agents or automations | Yes | No | Yes |
| Learns your brand or style | – | No | Yes |
| Works in many languages | Yes | – | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 8/ 17 | 6/ 17 | 12/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | ActiveCampaign | Foreplay | HubSpot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Starter From about $15/mo billed yearly (1,000 contacts) Solo owners starting with email automation. | BasicOur pick $59/mo, or $49/mo billed yearly One person who researches and saves ads. | Free Free Anyone who needs a CRM and basic marketing tools without a budget. |
PlusOur pick From about $49/mo billed yearly (1,000 contacts) Small businesses running email, landing pages and SMS. | Workflow $175/mo, or $149/mo billed yearly Small teams that track competitors and brief regularly. | Marketing Hub StarterOur pick $20/seat/mo, currently $7/seat/mo for new customers Small teams ready to remove the branding and send more. | |
Pro From about $79/mo billed yearly (1,000 contacts) Teams that want advanced targeting and attribution. | Agency $459/mo, or $389/mo billed yearly Agencies working across many client brands. | Marketing Hub Professional From $800/mo billed yearly, or $890/mo Marketing teams that need real automation. | |
Enterprise Custom Larger companies with security and CRM needs. | Enterprise Custom Large teams that need unlimited usage. | Marketing Hub Enterprise From $3,600/mo Large teams with several brands or business units. | |
| Which plan to pick | Plus is the sweet spot for most small businesses because it adds landing pages and generative AI. Starter is fine if you only need simple automations. Prices on ActiveCampaign's own page load per contact count, so plug in your real list size before deciding. | Basic does the job for a solo marketer or founder who wants a serious swipe file. Step up to Workflow when you have a team or you want to track specific competitors and connect it to Claude. Agency only makes sense if you brief for many brands. | Run the free CRM for as long as you can; it covers most small businesses. Starter is the sensible first paid step when you want the branding gone and more sends. Only move to Professional when you have a specific automation in mind that will pay for the jump. |
Key features
| Attribute | ActiveCampaign | Foreplay | HubSpot |
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Pros and cons
| Attribute | ActiveCampaign | Foreplay | HubSpot |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | ActiveCampaign | Foreplay | HubSpot |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, ActiveCampaign, Foreplay or HubSpot?
Foreplay scores highest overall in our ratings (ActiveCampaign 3.8/5, Foreplay 4.2/5 and HubSpot 4.1/5). ActiveCampaign is best for email automations and customer journeys and lead nurturing for service and B2B businesses. Foreplay is best for swipe files of great ads and tracking competitor ads. HubSpot is best for tracking leads and deals and B2B email marketing.
Which is cheaper, ActiveCampaign, Foreplay or HubSpot?
ActiveCampaign: Pricing isn't published; check the vendor's site for a quote. Foreplay: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $59/mo. HubSpot: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at From $800/mo.
Which is easier to use, ActiveCampaign, Foreplay or HubSpot?
Foreplay rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Media buyers, creative strategists and agencies who brief ads for a living.
How we compare
Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.
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