HubSpot Integration
SMS marketing delivers exceptional results—open rates hover around 90–98% compared to email's 20%, and 82% of consumers check texts within five minutes. For businesses using HubSpot as their CRM, integrating SMS into customer workflows seems like an obvious win.
SMS and HubSpot CRM Integration: The Complete UK Guide for 2026
HubSpot's native SMS is marketing-only, restricted to US phone numbers and US/Canada recipients, and requires Marketing Hub Professional or Enterprise plus a £75/month add-on—making third-party integrations from the HubSpot Marketplace the better choice for most UK businesses. Sakari leads with 6,000+ installs and global coverage from £16/month, whilst Salesmsg offers the deepest HubSpot integration with SMS, calling, and custom object support.
The reality is more nuanced. HubSpot's native SMS capability has significant limitations that existing guides gloss over, and the regulatory landscape has shifted dramatically with new A2P 10DLC requirements in the US and UK PECR rules that differ substantially from TCPA. This guide cuts through the marketing fluff to help you choose the right SMS integration for your HubSpot setup—whether that's native functionality, a marketplace app, or a combination approach.
At Whitehat, we've implemented HubSpot across 100+ B2B organisations and regularly help clients navigate these integration decisions. What follows is the practical, compliance-aware guidance we wish existed when we first encountered these choices.
HubSpot's Native SMS: Marketing-Only with Significant Geographic Constraints
HubSpot positions SMS as a marketing automation tool, not a sales or service channel. Native SMS functionality is exclusively available to Marketing Hub Professional (£890+/month) and Enterprise subscribers who purchase the additional SMS add-on. Sales Hub and Service Hub users have no native SMS capabilities and must rely entirely on third-party integrations.
HubSpot Native SMS: The Hard Facts
| Cost | £75/month for 1,000 message segments |
| Rollover | None—unused segments expire monthly |
| Sending numbers | US-based phone numbers only |
| Recipients | US and Canada (+1 country codes) only |
| Required tier | Marketing Hub Professional or Enterprise |
| Sole proprietors | Explicitly prohibited |
The geographic restrictions are the most critical limitation for UK businesses. There is no international SMS support natively, which makes HubSpot's built-in SMS unsuitable for any business with UK customers, European operations, or global sales teams.
Recent updates have expanded functionality incrementally. The February 2025 release extended SMS workflow actions beyond contact-based workflows, enabling automation based on deal closures or lifecycle stage changes. July 2024 introduced reply management for two-way conversations in a shared inbox. Native analytics include delivery rates, click rates, and funnel visualisation, with SMS interactions counted in multi-touch attribution reporting.
Breeze AI integration allows generating and refining SMS content using natural language prompts—expanding, shortening, changing tone, or translating messages. However, no dedicated SMS Agent exists among HubSpot's current AI offerings; SMS-specific features are embedded within the general Breeze Assistant.
Sakari and Salesmsg Lead the HubSpot Marketplace
The HubSpot App Marketplace lists over 59 SMS integrations, but a handful of certified apps capture the majority of installations. For UK businesses needing international SMS capability, these marketplace options provide what native HubSpot cannot.
| App | Installs | Starting Price | Key Differentiator |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sakari | 6,000+ | £16/mo (500 msg) | Global reach, 200+ countries, 90-day credit rollover |
| Salesmsg | 3,000+ | £21/mo (500 credits) | SMS + calling combined, AI assistant, custom objects |
| Sinch Engage | 2,000+ | Contact for pricing | First RCS in HubSpot, WhatsApp integration |
| Aircall | 15,000+ | £40/user/mo | VoIP-first with SMS, HelpDesk integration |
| JustCall | 3,000+ | Contact for pricing | Unified SMS + voice + WhatsApp |
Sinch Engage (formerly MessageMedia) holds HubSpot Essential App Partner status—one of the platform's highest distinctions—and became the first to bring RCS messaging to HubSpot in 2024–2025. Their roadmap includes Conversations Inbox integration, dynamic sender ID, and rich media capabilities unavailable through native SMS.
For businesses evaluating integration depth, Salesmsg offers the most comprehensive HubSpot connectivity: two-way sync across Contacts, Deals, Tickets, Companies, and Custom Objects, plus workflow actions, timeline tracking, HubSpot Conversations Inbox support, and calling directly within HubSpot. Sakari provides excellent workflow automation and personalisation using 30+ contact properties but lacks a shared inbox and calling features.
New entrants in 2024–2025 include OneSignal (relaunched with SMS added to push notification workflows), Clerk Chat (enabling SMS and WhatsApp on existing phone numbers), and Emitrr (healthcare-focused with HIPAA compliance). The marketplace continues consolidating around platforms that combine SMS with calling, AI-assisted messaging, or multi-channel capabilities.
SMS Performance: What the Statistics Actually Show
The ubiquitous "98% SMS open rate" statistic traces to a Dynmark report from approximately 2015, subsequently cited by Adobe, Gartner, and thousands of marketing articles without original methodology verification. Whilst directionally accurate, this figure specifically applies to messages "actually delivered" and read within 3–4 minutes—important context typically omitted.
| Metric | SMS | |
|---|---|---|
| Open rate | 90–98% | 20–28.6% |
| Click-through rate | 19–35% | 0.77–4.36% |
| Response rate | 32–45% | 6% |
| Response time | 90 seconds | 90 minutes |
| ROI per £1 spent | £21–£71 | £10–£36 |
Click-through rates show significant variance by message type. Abandoned cart messages achieve 24.6–39.4% conversion rates, whilst welcome messages range from 14.4–27.2%. Consumer SMS adoption continues accelerating—84% of US consumers have opted in to receive business texts, a 35% increase since 2021.
B2B versus B2C effectiveness data remains notably sparse. Most SMS marketing statistics focus on B2C contexts—retail, e-commerce, healthcare. The single B2B-specific finding suggests sales teams using SMS after initial contact see 112.6% higher lead-to-engagement conversion, but methodology details are unclear. This represents a significant research gap that B2B marketers should acknowledge when building business cases.
UK Compliance: PECR Rules Differ Significantly from US TCPA
The April 2025 FCC opt-out rule changes in the US have dominated headlines, but UK compliance operates under entirely different legislation. Understanding PECR (Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations) is essential for any UK-based SMS marketing programme.
UK vs US Compliance Comparison
| Requirement | United Kingdom | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Primary legislation | PECR + UK GDPR | TCPA + FCC Rules + State laws |
| Carrier registration | Not required | Yes (A2P 10DLC mandatory) |
| Soft opt-in exception | Yes (existing customers) | No |
| Quiet hours | No legal requirement | 8 AM – 9 PM (varies by state) |
| Maximum penalty | £500,000 total | $1,500/message (uncapped) |
UK compliance under PECR requires specific opt-in consent before sending marketing SMS, though a "soft opt-in" exception exists for existing customers receiving similar product marketing—a provision unavailable under US TCPA. Consent must be channel-specific (separate from email) and cannot be transferred to third parties.
The ICO actively enforces violations, issuing £440,000+ in fines during Q4 2024 alone for unlawful direct marketing. For HubSpot users implementing SMS workflows, this means building proper consent capture into forms and ensuring opt-out mechanisms are robust and immediate.
Recent US TCPA settlements demonstrate enforcement severity: SiriusXM ($28 million, 2025), Realogy ($20 million), QuoteWizard ($19 million). T-Mobile imposes carrier-level penalties up to $10,000 per non-compliance incident, with campaign suspension for repeat violations.
RCS Reaches 2.5 Billion Users: What It Means for HubSpot Integration
Rich Communication Services (RCS) adoption accelerated dramatically following iOS 18's RCS support in September 2024, unlocking Apple's user base for the first time. Google reports over 1 billion daily RCS messages in the US alone, with 2.5 billion monthly active users globally. The market is projected to grow from $2.87 billion (2025) to $8.89 billion by 2030.
Sinch Engage launched RCS Business Messaging for HubSpot in 2024–2025, becoming the first integration to offer rich media capabilities including verified sender profiles, interactive carousels, and PDF sharing. Attentive announced RCS at Shoptalk 2025, and Twilio reached general availability for all customers.
Pricing models are evolving toward content-based billing: basic messaging at SMS parity, rich single messages at 30–40% premium, and conversational messaging with unlimited messages within 6-hour windows.
WhatsApp Business: The International Alternative
For businesses with international customers, WhatsApp Business presents a compelling alternative. WhatsApp offers 40–70% click-through rates (versus SMS's 11% average for e-commerce), 4,096-character messages, native rich media, and end-to-end encryption. However, SMS maintains universal reach—working on all phones without data connections—making it superior for urgent alerts and transactional messages.
AI integration in SMS marketing is demonstrating measurable impact. Vibes reports 50% CTR improvement from AI-powered send-time optimisation. Platforms like Attentive AI, Klaviyo's Smart Send Time, and Meera AI enable predictive analytics for churn prediction, personalised send timing, and conversational lead qualification.
Native vs Third-Party: A Decision Framework
Despite HubSpot's significant limitations (£75/month add-on, US-only, Marketing Hub requirement), no existing guide provides an objective comparison. Here's when to use each approach:
✓ Use HubSpot Native SMS When:
- Your audience is exclusively US/Canada-based
- You already have Marketing Hub Professional or Enterprise
- SMS volume stays under 1,000 messages monthly
- You prioritise simplicity over advanced features
- Marketing automation workflows are your primary use case
✗ Use Third-Party Integration When:
- You have UK, European, or international customers
- Sales or Service teams need SMS capability
- You need two-way conversational messaging
- Volume exceeds 1,000 messages monthly
- You want SMS + calling in one platform
- RCS or WhatsApp support is needed
For most UK-based businesses using HubSpot, third-party integrations are the practical choice. Sakari's global coverage and credit rollover make it cost-effective for variable-volume campaigns, whilst Salesmsg's deep integration suits organisations wanting unified communications within HubSpot.
SMS Best Practices That Actually Move the Needle
Based on verified research from SimpleTexting, EZ Texting, and Klaviyo's analysis of billions of messages, here are the practices that demonstrably improve SMS performance:
- Keep messages under 160 characters—under 70 characters performs 34% better. Twilio counts 153 characters per segment; exceeding this doubles your message cost.
- Send between 1 PM – 5 PM in the UK (11 AM – 4 PM in the US). These windows consistently outperform early morning or evening sends.
- Limit frequency to 1–2 messages per week. Opt-out rates spike significantly at 10–15 monthly messages.
- Personalised SMS generates 40% more revenue than generic messages. Use HubSpot personalisation tokens to include first names and relevant context.
- Enable two-way conversations with responses limited to single-character options (1, 2, 3) for maximum reply rates.
- Send-time optimisation based on individual engagement history boosts conversion by 32%—a feature available through AI-powered platforms.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can HubSpot send SMS to UK phone numbers?
No. HubSpot's native SMS only supports US-based sending numbers to US and Canada (+1 country code) recipients. UK businesses must use third-party integrations like Sakari or Salesmsg for international SMS capability.
How much does HubSpot SMS cost per month?
HubSpot's SMS add-on costs £75 per month for 1,000 message segments. This requires Marketing Hub Professional (£890+/month) or Enterprise. Unused segments do not roll over. Third-party alternatives like Sakari start at £16/month for 500 messages with 90-day rollover.
What is A2P 10DLC and do I need it?
A2P 10DLC (Application-to-Person 10-digit long code) is a US carrier registration system now mandatory for business SMS. It affects US-based messaging only. UK businesses sending to UK numbers follow PECR regulations instead, which do not require carrier registration.
Which HubSpot SMS integration is best for sales teams?
Salesmsg offers the deepest HubSpot integration for sales use cases, with two-way sync across Contacts, Deals, Tickets, Companies, and Custom Objects, plus combined SMS and calling capabilities. HubSpot's native SMS is marketing-only and unavailable to Sales Hub users.
What SMS open rate should I expect?
Expect 90–98% open rates for SMS compared to 20–28% for email. However, the oft-cited 98% figure applies specifically to delivered messages read within 3–4 minutes. Click-through rates average 19–35%, with abandoned cart messages achieving the highest conversions at 24.6–39.4%.
Need Help Implementing SMS in Your HubSpot?
Whitehat has implemented HubSpot across 100+ B2B organisations and can help you choose the right SMS integration for your specific needs. Whether you need marketplace app configuration, workflow automation, or compliance guidance for UK PECR requirements, we'll get you set up properly.
Explore HubSpot Onboarding →References
- HubSpot SMS Marketing Features — Official HubSpot product documentation
- HubSpot Product & Services Catalog — Pricing and feature specifications
- Sinch Engage HubSpot Integration — HubSpot App Marketplace listing
- ICO Direct Marketing Guidance — UK Information Commissioner's Office PECR guidance
- Salesmsg: Best SMS Tools for HubSpot — Integration comparison and pricing data
- Quo (formerly OpenPhone): HubSpot SMS Integrations — Marketplace analysis and feature comparison
- HubSpot Marketing Hub Pricing Guide — Official HubSpot pricing documentation
Related Resources from Whitehat
- HubSpot Onboarding Services — Get your HubSpot setup right from day one
- HubSpot CRM: What Is It & What Is It Used For? — Complete UK guide to HubSpot CRM
- HubSpot Workflow Automation Guide — External outreach and internal process automation
- HubSpot Sales Hub Deployment Guide — 7-step framework for successful implementation
- B2B Marketing Services — Full-service inbound marketing from a HubSpot Diamond Partner