May 10, 2026

How to Create a List in HubSpot (2026 Guide)

Hubspot CRM How-to Segmentation Lists Segments Marketing

HubSpot’s list tool was rebranded to Segments in late 2025. The functionality is the same, active or static groups of records based on filters, but the menu lives at CRM > Segments now, and the editor was rebuilt to support more complex AND/OR logic.

Here’s how to build segments in 2026, plus when to pick active vs. static and what each tier supports.

1. Active vs. Static Segments

The first decision is which type of segment you need.

Type	How membership works	Best for
Active	Auto-updates. Records join when they meet the criteria, leave when they no longer do.	Recurring sends, behavior-based targeting, suppression lists, dashboard segments.
Static	Snapshot at creation. Membership doesn’t change unless you manually add or remove records.	One-time campaigns, event attendees, frozen audiences for testing, manual grouping.

A common pattern: build an active segment for a marketing email send, then convert it to a static segment after the send so you have a permanent record of who got the email at that moment.

2. Create an Active Segment

Active segments are the right pick for almost everything.

In your HubSpot account, go to CRM > Segments.
Click Create segment in the top right.
On the type screen, pick:
- Active list: auto-updating membership.
- Object: Contacts, Companies, or Deals (Tickets and custom objects available on Pro+).
Click Next. The segment editor opens.
Click Add filter.
Pick the filter type:
- Contact properties: lifecycle stage, lead status, country, custom properties.
- Company properties: industry, employee count, ARR.
- Form submissions: submitted any form, or a specific form.
- List/segment memberships: is/isn’t a member of another segment.
- Marketing email events: opened, clicked, bounced.
- Page views, Workflow membership, CTA interactions, Custom events.
Set the criteria (e.g., Lifecycle stage is any of Lead, MQL).
Click Apply filter.
Add additional filters as needed.
Name the segment in the top left, then click Save.

The segment immediately starts populating. Large segments can take a few minutes to fully build.

3. Create a Static Segment

Static segments are best when you need a frozen audience.

Go to CRM > Segments > Create segment.
Pick Static list and the object type. Click Next.
Build the filters the same way as an active segment.
Click Save. HubSpot captures everyone matching the filters at that moment.

After saving, you can add or remove records manually:

Add records: open the segment, click Add records, and search by name/email.
Remove records: open the segment, hover a row, and click Remove.
Bulk add from another view: on any index page, select records with checkboxes, click Add to segment, and pick the target.

4. AND vs. OR Filter Logic

The 2025 editor lets you mix AND/OR much more cleanly than the old list builder.

Within a filter group: filters are joined by AND (or OR, toggleable). Between filter groups: groups are joined by OR.

A typical “all of A AND (any of B or C)” segment looks like:

Filter Group 1
  Lifecycle stage IS Customer
  AND
  Country IS United States

OR

Filter Group 2
  Lifecycle stage IS Customer
  AND
  Country IS Canada
  AND
  ARR > 50000

To build it:

Add the filters that make up Group 1.
Click Add filter group below the first group.
Add the filters for Group 2.
The dropdown between groups defaults to OR: you can toggle to AND if needed.
Inside a group, click the AND dropdown between filters to switch to OR.

Limits: up to 250 filters per segment, including up to 60 associated object filters (properties on linked companies, deals, tickets, etc.).

5. Common Use Cases

Use case	Segment type	Sample criteria
Newsletter audience	Active	Email opt-in is Subscribed AND Email is not bounced
Trial users to convert	Active	Lifecycle stage is Opportunity AND Trial start date is in last 14 days
Suppression list	Active	Email opt-out is Yes OR Email is hard bounced
Q1 campaign recipients	Static	Saved snapshot of who got the Q1 email
Product launch attendees	Static	Manually added from event registration
Re-engagement targets	Active	Last engagement date is more than 90 days ago AND Email opt-out is No
Account-based marketing target	Active	Associated company employee count > 500 AND Industry is Software

6. Tier Gating and Limits

Segments are available on every HubSpot tier, but the number you can build and a few features are gated.

Subscription	Active segments	Static segments	Notes
Free CRM	Up to 5	Up to 5	Basic property and form filters.
Marketing Hub Starter	25 active	25 static	Adds marketing email and CTA filters.
Marketing Hub Professional	1,000 active	1,000 static	All filter types, including custom events and association labels.
Marketing Hub Enterprise	1,500 active	1,500 static	Adds advanced reporting and partition support.

Sales Hub and Service Hub include access to contact, company, deal, and ticket segments, the limits above are for Marketing Hub specifically.

Permission requirement: users need the Write segments permission to create and edit. View-only access is granted by default.

7. Use a Segment Once You’ve Built It

A saved segment becomes the input for almost every other tool in HubSpot:

Marketing email: pick the segment as the recipient list when sending or scheduling.
Workflow enrollment: trigger a workflow when records join a segment.
Ad audiences: sync to Meta, Google, LinkedIn for retargeting.
Dashboard reports: filter dashboards to segment members.
Bulk actions: open the segment, select all, and email/edit/delete in bulk.

Tip: When you delete a segment, anything that depends on it (workflows, ad audiences, scheduled emails) breaks. Always check Used in on the segment details before deleting.

Send Better Lists Without Building Better Filters

Segments cover the audiences you can describe with rules. The follow-ups, replies, and personalization on top still take time. Carly is an AI assistant that connects to 200+ apps including HubSpot and handles the repetitive work for you.

More on HubSpot: How to export contacts from HubSpot · How to create a workflow in HubSpot · How to create a deal in HubSpot · How to connect HubSpot to an AI agent · Best AI CRM tools

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