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Side-by-side comparison · Marketing & Ads

Arcads vs HubSpot vs Foreplay

Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.

Arcads

3.7

Free to start

HubSpot

4.1

From From $800/mo

Best overall

Foreplay

4.2

From $59/mo

Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.

At a glance

Arcads

3.7

Pick it if: Performance marketers who want cheap, fast video ads to test before investing in real creators.

HubSpot

4.1

Pick it if: Service businesses, agencies and B2B teams that need contacts, deals and marketing in one system.

Foreplay

4.2
Best overallBest valueEasiest to use

Pick it if: Media buyers, creative strategists and agencies who brief ads for a living.

Overview

AttributeArcadsHubSpotForeplay
In one lineMakes talking-head video ads with AI actors, no filming or creators needed.A free CRM with AI agents that handle leads, support and content for you.Save competitors' ads, spot trends and turn them into briefs for your next creative.
Pricing modelPaidFreemiumPaid
Starting priceSee websiteFrom $800/mo$59/mo
Free plan No Yes No
Works with Claude Code No Yes Yes

Rating breakdown

Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.

AttributeArcadsHubSpotForeplay
Overall rating3.74.14.2Winner
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
4.0
4.0
4.5
FeaturesHow much it can do, and how well the pieces fit together.
3.5
5.0
4.0
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
3.5
4.0
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.
4.0
4.0
4.5

Feature comparison

A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.

AttributeArcadsHubSpotForeplay
Access & platform
Free plan No Yes No
Mobile app No Yes No
Desktop app No No No
Browser extension No 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
Open source or self-hosted No No No
AI abilities
Works with your files Yes Yes–
Understands images Yes– Yes
Makes images No Yes No
Makes video Yes No No
Writes code No No No
Runs agents or automations No Yes No
Learns your brand or style No Yes No
Works in many languages Yes Yes–
Capabilities score7/ 1712/ 176/ 17

Pricing

Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.

AttributeArcadsHubSpotForeplay
Plans

StarterOur pick

See website

Testing a handful of scripts a month.

Free

Free

Anyone who needs a CRM and basic marketing tools without a budget.

BasicOur pick

$59/mo, or $49/mo billed yearly

One person who researches and saves ads.

Creator

See website

Brands producing video ads every week.

Marketing Hub StarterOur pick

$20/seat/mo, currently $7/seat/mo for new customers

Small teams ready to remove the branding and send more.

Workflow

$175/mo, or $149/mo billed yearly

Small teams that track competitors and brief regularly.

Pro

Custom

Teams and agencies at volume.

Marketing Hub Professional

From $800/mo billed yearly, or $890/mo

Marketing teams that need real automation.

Agency

$459/mo, or $389/mo billed yearly

Agencies working across many client brands.

Marketing Hub Enterprise

From $3,600/mo

Large teams with several brands or business units.

Enterprise

Custom

Large teams that need unlimited usage.

Which plan to pickArcads does not publish prices, so sign up for the trial and check the plan screen before you commit. Starter is enough to test whether the style works for your product; move up only once you have a winning script you want to localise or vary at scale.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.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.

Key features

AttributeArcadsHubSpotForeplay
Standout features
  • AI actor library
  • Script to video
  • Product in hand
  • Languages
  • Bulk variations
  • Free CRM
  • Breeze agents
  • Marketing email and forms
  • Workflows
  • Reporting
  • Data quality tools
  • Swipe File
  • Discovery
  • Spyder
  • Briefs
  • Lens
  • AI and MCP connections

Pros and cons

AttributeArcadsHubSpotForeplay
Pros
  • Fast, convincing UGC-style video without a creator
  • Large actor library so test batches look varied
  • Localisation in more than 30 languages is cheap
  • Good for testing angles before spending on real production
  • One of the most generous free CRMs around
  • Marketing, sales and support share the same customer record
  • Breeze agents take over lead research, support answers and first drafts
  • Starter tiers are affordable per seat
  • Enormous library of integrations and agencies that know it
  • Saving and organising ads is fast and well designed
  • Huge searchable library with transcripts and tags
  • Briefs turn research into something a creator can act on
  • Fair entry price for a solo user
  • Connects to Claude and other AI assistants
Cons
  • No published prices; you have to sign up to see plans
  • Credit-based billing means long videos eat your allowance
  • Product close-ups and demos still look artificial
  • Platform rules on AI disclosure are tightening
  • No reporting on how the ads perform
  • Professional and Enterprise are a steep jump, with onboarding fees on top
  • Marketing contacts are a separate limit, and costs rise with your list
  • Many AI features draw on a credit allowance that runs out
  • Weaker than Klaviyo for ecommerce behaviour-based email
  • Competitor tracking is locked behind the $175 plan
  • Reporting on your own ads is basic compared with Motion
  • It is still another subscription for a swipe file some people keep in Notion for free
  • No free plan, only a seven-day trial

Who each one is for

AttributeArcadsHubSpotForeplay
Best for
  • Testing ad scripts fast
  • Localised video ads
  • Scaling a winning creator ad
  • Video when you have no footage
  • Tracking leads and deals
  • B2B email marketing
  • Chatbots that answer customers
  • Keeping contact data clean
  • Swipe files of great ads
  • Tracking competitor ads
  • Writing creative briefs
  • Finding hooks by industry
You'll find it used by
  • Performance marketers
  • App marketers
  • DTC brands
  • Agencies
  • B2B teams
  • Agencies
  • Consultants
  • Service businesses
  • Media buyers
  • Creative strategists
  • Agencies
  • UGC creators

How we compare

Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability. The "Visit" buttons may use affiliate links, which never affect a score.

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