Honest Comparison

FollowUp vs HubSpot Sales Hub: Which Is Better for SMS Follow-Up?

TL;DR

HubSpot Sales Hub is a full CRM platform with marketing, sales, and service modules. SMS is not a first-class feature. To text leads, you either need Marketing Hub Pro plus an SMS add-on, or you bolt on a third-party SMS app from the HubSpot marketplace. FollowUp is the opposite: SMS-first, no CRM to wrestle with, built for field reps who text leads from their own iPhone. Use HubSpot if your team already lives in a CRM and SMS is a side channel. Use FollowUp if SMS is the primary follow-up channel and you want it to feel personal.

Quick verdict: who should pick which

Choose FollowUp if

SMS is your primary follow-up channel, not a side feature
You want texts from your own iPhone number (not a generic CRM line)
You want a free tier without a sales call to start
You're a single rep or small field team, not a marketing org

Choose HubSpot Sales Hub if

You need a full CRM with deals, contacts, companies, reporting
You're already on HubSpot for marketing or service
You have budget for the Marketing Hub Pro tier + SMS add-on
Your team includes marketers who need email, forms, and automation in one place

Feature comparison

Feature	FollowUp	HubSpot Sales Hub
Native SMS	Yes: primary feature	Limited: requires Marketing Hub Pro + SMS add-on, or third-party app
SMS from your own phone number	Yes: iMessage from the rep's iPhone (every plan, including Free)	No: uses HubSpot/Twilio-provisioned numbers
AI reply classification	Yes on Plus and up: built in	Available via Service Hub AI / third-party
Ringless voicemail	Yes (Pro and Autopilot)	No (third-party only)
Free tier	Yes, no credit card: no cap on contacts; iMessage blasts free your first 7 days, then 2 a month, for good; the first 7 days add guided iMessage drip sequences and 10 voicemail drops	Yes: Free CRM tier, but Sales Hub paid features start at Starter
Setup time	Minutes (install iOS app, sign in)	Hours to weeks (Pro tier requires onboarding fee)
CRM functionality	Lightweight pipeline only	Full CRM with deals, companies, custom objects
Marketing automation	Drip-sequence follow-up only (Plus and up)	Full marketing automation (separate Hub)
Built for	Field sales reps	Sales orgs needing a CRM

When to use each

FollowUp

FollowUp wins for solo reps and small field teams whose primary follow-up channel is SMS, not email. There's no CRM to set up, no fields to configure, no onboarding fee. Install the iOS app, import contacts, and start sending personalized texts from your own phone number. On Plus, AI reads business-number replies in the background and only surfaces leads worth responding to.

HubSpot Sales Hub

HubSpot wins when you need a real CRM with full pipeline reporting, marketing automation, and integration with your other tools. SMS in HubSpot is a supporting channel, not the primary one. To use it well you typically need the Marketing Hub Pro tier with the SMS add-on, which is a different price point and use case than FollowUp. If you're a marketing org or sales team that lives in a CRM all day, HubSpot is the right shape.

Pricing

HubSpot Sales Hub has a free tier (basic CRM), then Starter, Professional, and Enterprise paid tiers. Pro and Enterprise include onboarding fees. Native SMS requires Marketing Hub Pro plus a per-segment SMS add-on, so the realistic monthly cost of SMS automation on HubSpot is meaningfully higher than the Sales Hub price alone. FollowUp's free tier has no cap on contacts and iMessage blasts from your own iPhone (free your first 7 days, then 2 a month, for good), plus guided iMessage drip sequences and 10 voicemail drops in the first 7 days, no credit card; Plus, Pro and Autopilot add a business number, AI that sorts replies, voicemail drops, and team features. Verify current pricing at hubspot.com/pricing/sales and myfollowup.io.

Frequently asked questions

Does HubSpot do SMS natively?

HubSpot does have native SMS, but it is gated. You need Marketing Hub Professional or Enterprise, plus an SMS add-on, to send SMS through HubSpot itself. Many teams bolt on a third-party SMS app from the HubSpot marketplace instead. FollowUp has SMS as the core feature, no add-ons needed.

Can FollowUp integrate with HubSpot?

FollowUp is a standalone follow-up tool, not a HubSpot integration. If you need leads to sync between HubSpot and your follow-up tool, your options today are HubSpot's SMS add-on, a marketplace app, or exporting/importing contacts manually into FollowUp.

Is FollowUp cheaper than HubSpot Sales Hub?

For SMS-only use cases, yes. FollowUp has a free tier and the paid tiers are a fraction of HubSpot Pro pricing once you factor in the required SMS add-on. But the comparison is not apples-to-apples: HubSpot is a full CRM platform; FollowUp is an SMS follow-up tool. Pick based on whether you need a CRM, not just on price.

Which is better for field sales reps?

FollowUp is purpose-built for field reps. The texts come from the rep's own iPhone number, on Plus the AI reads business-number replies between appointments, and there's no CRM to update. HubSpot fits better when reps work from a desk, log activities into a CRM, and SMS is a supporting channel.

Does FollowUp work with HubSpot deal stages?

No. FollowUp has its own lightweight pipeline stages, with drip sequences tied to them on Plus and up. If your team needs a single source of truth in HubSpot, you would need to keep both updated separately, which is why FollowUp is a better fit for teams not already standardized on HubSpot.

Try FollowUp free

Free has no cap on contacts and sends from your own number. No credit card required.

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