Side-by-side comparison · Marketing & Ads
HubSpot vs Klaviyo 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.
Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.
At a glance
HubSpot
4.1Pick it if: Service businesses, agencies and B2B teams that need contacts, deals and marketing in one system.
Klaviyo
4.3Pick it if: Online stores that want their email and SMS to run on real customer behaviour.
Foreplay
4.2Pick it if: Media buyers, creative strategists and agencies who brief ads for a living.
Klaviyo scores highest overall, but Foreplay gives you more for your money. Which one is right comes down to what you value most.
Overview
| Attribute | HubSpot | Klaviyo | Foreplay |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | A free CRM with AI agents that handle leads, support and content for you. | Email and SMS for online stores, with AI that writes, segments and predicts. | Save competitors' ads, spot trends and turn them into briefs for your next creative. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium | Paid |
| Starting price | From $800/mo | From $20/mo | $59/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | No |
| Works with Claude Code | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | HubSpot | Klaviyo | Foreplay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.1 | 4.3Winner | 4.2 |
| 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. | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.0 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.0 | 4.5 | 4.0 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 3.5 | 3.5 | 4.0 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.0 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | HubSpot | Klaviyo | Foreplay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | No |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes | No |
| Desktop app | No | No | No |
| Browser extension | Yes | No | 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 | Yes | – |
| Understands images | – | – | Yes |
| Makes images | Yes | – | No |
| Makes video | No | No | No |
| Writes code | No | No | No |
| Runs agents or automations | Yes | Yes | No |
| Learns your brand or style | Yes | Yes | No |
| Works in many languages | Yes | Yes | – |
| Capabilities score | 12/ 17 | 10/ 17 | 6/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | HubSpot | Klaviyo | Foreplay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Free Free Anyone who needs a CRM and basic marketing tools without a budget. | Free Free New stores building their first flows. | BasicOur pick $59/mo, or $49/mo billed yearly One person who researches and saves ads. |
Marketing Hub StarterOur pick $20/seat/mo, currently $7/seat/mo for new customers Small teams ready to remove the branding and send more. | EmailOur pick From $20/mo Most stores once they pass 250 contacts. | Workflow $175/mo, or $149/mo billed yearly Small teams that track competitors and brief regularly. | |
Marketing Hub Professional From $800/mo billed yearly, or $890/mo Marketing teams that need real automation. | Email and SMS From $35/mo Stores that want text messages in the same flows. | 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 brands with many stores or markets. | Enterprise Custom Large teams that need unlimited usage. | |
| Which plan to pick | 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. | Start on Free and build your welcome and abandoned cart flows before you pay anything. Move to Email when you cross 250 contacts, and only add SMS once email is working, because text messages cost extra per send. | 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
| Attribute | HubSpot | Klaviyo | Foreplay |
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Pros and cons
| Attribute | HubSpot | Klaviyo | Foreplay |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | HubSpot | Klaviyo | Foreplay |
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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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