How to Send an Email in HubSpot (2026 Guide)
HubSpot has two ways to send email, and which one you use depends on the audience. For a one-to-one sales email to a single contact, send it from the contact record using your connected inbox. For a bulk campaign to a list, use the Marketing Email tool. Both are available on the free tier with monthly send limits that increase on paid plans.
1. Connect your inbox (one-time setup)
Before you can send 1:1 emails, connect your personal inbox so HubSpot sends from your real address and logs replies.
- Click the Settings gear in the top right.
- Go to General > Email tab.
- Click Connect personal email.
- Choose Gmail, Outlook / Office 365, or Other (IMAP) and authorize.
Once connected, emails you send from a contact record go out through your inbox, and replies are logged back to the contact’s timeline automatically.
2. Send a 1:1 email from a contact record
This is the standard way to email an individual prospect or customer.
- Go to CRM > Contacts and open the contact.
- In the activity timeline, click the Email icon (next to Note, Call, Task, etc.).
- The inline composer opens with the contact’s email pre-filled in To.
- Write your subject and body. You can:
- Insert a template (see step 4)
- Add personalization tokens like
{{contact.firstname}} - Attach files, insert a document, or drop in a meeting link
- Click Send, or use Send later to schedule it.
The email goes out from your connected inbox and is logged on the contact record, so the whole team sees the history.
3. Send a bulk campaign with the Marketing Email tool
For newsletters, announcements, or any send to many contacts at once, use the dedicated Marketing Email tool, not the 1:1 composer.
- Go to Marketing > Email.
- Click Create email in the top right.
- Choose Regular (standard one-time send), Automated (workflow-triggered), or Blog/RSS.
- Pick a template and design the email in the drag-and-drop editor.
- On the Recipients tab, select a list or specific contacts. You can also exclude lists.
- On the Settings tab, set the from name, from address, and subject line.
- Click Review and send, then Send now or Schedule for later.
The free tier allows Marketing Email with a monthly send cap and HubSpot branding in the footer. Marketing Hub Starter raises the cap and removes branding; Professional and Enterprise add A/B testing, smart content, and higher limits.
4. Use templates to send faster
Templates let you reuse the same email body across many contacts without retyping.
- Go to CRM > Templates (under the Sales tools) or Library > Templates.
- Click New template, write your reusable copy with personalization tokens, and save.
- When composing a 1:1 email, click Templates in the composer and pick one. HubSpot fills in the tokens from the contact record.
Free and Starter accounts get a limited number of templates per user; Sales Hub Professional and Enterprise raise that limit substantially.
5. When to use a sequence instead
If you need to send a series of timed follow-ups to a prospect (for example, three emails over two weeks that stop automatically when they reply), that’s a sequence, not a single send. Sequences live under Automation > Sequences and require Sales Hub Professional or Enterprise. They’re built for one-to-one outreach at scale, distinct from the bulk Marketing Email tool.
Quick Reference
| Method | Audience | Sends from | Plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:1 email from record | One contact | Your connected inbox | Free+ |
| Marketing Email | A list / many contacts | HubSpot send servers | Free+ (caps by tier) |
| Templates | One contact, reusable copy | Your connected inbox | Free+ (limits by tier) |
| Sequences | Timed 1:1 follow-ups | Your connected inbox | Sales Hub Pro / Ent |
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More on HubSpot: How to create a workflow in HubSpot · How to create a list in HubSpot · How to merge contacts in HubSpot · HubSpot integration
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