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Side-by-side comparison · Marketing & Ads

Foreplay vs HubSpot vs Madgicx

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

Best overall

Foreplay

4.2

From $59/mo

HubSpot

4.1

From From $800/mo

Madgicx

3.5

From Based on ad spend (shown in app)

Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.

At a glance

Best overallBest valueEasiest to use

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.

Pick it if: Online stores and agencies spending real money on Facebook and Instagram ads.

Overview

AttributeForeplayHubSpotMadgicx
In one lineSave 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.Audits and automates Meta ads for online stores, with AI suggestions and reports.
Pricing modelPaidFreemiumPaid
Starting price$59/moFrom $800/moBased on ad spend (shown in app)
Free plan No Yes No
Works with Claude Code Yes Yes Yes

Rating breakdown

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

AttributeForeplayHubSpotMadgicx
Overall rating4.2Winner4.13.5
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
4.5
4.0
3.0
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.
4.0
5.0
4.5
Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them.
4.0
4.0
3.5
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.
4.0
3.5
3.0
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.
4.5
4.0
3.5

Feature comparison

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

AttributeForeplayHubSpotMadgicx
Access & platform
Free plan No Yes No
Mobile app No Yes–
Desktop app No No–
Browser extension Yes Yes–
API access Yes Yes Yes
Teams & business
Team workspace Yes Yes Yes
Enterprise plan or SSO 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 No Yes Yes
Makes video No No–
Writes code No No No
Runs agents or automations No Yes Yes
Learns your brand or style No Yes–
Works in many languages– Yes–
Capabilities score6/ 1712/ 175/ 17

Pricing

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

AttributeForeplayHubSpotMadgicx
Plans

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.

Pro CompleteOur pick

Based on ad spend (shown in app)

Stores spending a few thousand a month or more on Meta.

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.

Tracking Pro add-on

$49/mo

Stores whose Meta conversion data looks wrong.

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

Large teams that need unlimited usage.

Marketing Hub Enterprise

From $3,600/mo

Large teams with several brands or business units.

Which plan to pickBasic 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.There is one main plan, priced by your spend. Use the 7-day trial on a small part of your budget, check the price shown in the app for your spend level, and only add Tracking Pro if your Meta numbers clearly undercount sales.

Key features

AttributeForeplayHubSpotMadgicx
Standout features
  • Swipe File
  • Discovery
  • Spyder
  • Briefs
  • Lens
  • AI and MCP connections
  • Free CRM
  • Breeze agents
  • Marketing email and forms
  • Workflows
  • Reporting
  • Data quality tools
  • AI Marketer
  • Automation rules
  • Creative insights
  • Audience launcher
  • One-click reports
  • Tracking Pro

Pros and cons

AttributeForeplayHubSpotMadgicx
Pros
  • 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
  • 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
  • Automation can manage budgets without someone watching all day
  • Creative and audience insights are well regarded
  • Daily audits turn data into clear suggestions
  • Official MCP server for Claude
Cons
  • 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
  • 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
  • Price is hidden until you sign up and rises with ad spend
  • Many complaints about trial charges, add-ons billing after cancelling and slow refunds
  • Steep learning curve
  • Mostly useful for Meta; little help elsewhere

Who each one is for

AttributeForeplayHubSpotMadgicx
Best for
  • Swipe files of great ads
  • Tracking competitor ads
  • Writing creative briefs
  • Finding hooks by industry
  • Tracking leads and deals
  • B2B email marketing
  • Chatbots that answer customers
  • Keeping contact data clean
  • Daily Meta ads audits
  • Automating budgets and bids
  • Finding winning ad creatives
  • E-commerce ad reporting
You'll find it used by
  • Media buyers
  • Creative strategists
  • Agencies
  • UGC creators
  • B2B teams
  • Agencies
  • Consultants
  • Service businesses
  • E-commerce brands
  • Shopify stores
  • Performance agencies
  • Media buyers

Questions people ask

Which is better, Foreplay, HubSpot or Madgicx?

Foreplay scores highest overall in our ratings (Foreplay 4.2/5, HubSpot 4.1/5 and Madgicx 3.5/5). 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. Madgicx is best for Daily Meta ads audits and automating budgets and bids.

Which is cheaper, Foreplay, HubSpot or Madgicx?

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. Madgicx: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at Based on ad spend (shown in app).

Which is easier to use, Foreplay, HubSpot or Madgicx?

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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