Botsmith vs HubSpot's chatbot

HubSpot offers two different things people call "the HubSpot chatbot". One is a free chatbot builder that comes with its free CRM and live chat. The other is Customer Agent, an AI support agent sold with the paid Service Hub editions. Botsmith is neither of those. It is a bot that reads your website and your files, answers visitors from them, and emails you when someone wants a person. This page sets out what each one costs, what each one expects from you, and when HubSpot is simply the better pick.

The short version

If your business already runs on HubSpot CRM, stay in HubSpot. Its chat logs every conversation against the contact, and that is worth more than anything a separate bot can offer you. If you do not use HubSpot, and what you want is a bot that answers the same questions your website already answers, Botsmith is smaller, cheaper and quicker to set up. The hard part of the choice is not the bot. It is whether you want a CRM.

HubSpot's two chatbots

The free chatbot builder is a tool for building conversations. HubSpot's page tells you to choose a template based on your bot's goal, then use the visual editor to customise the conversation and add your own questions and copy. It describes using if/then branches to triage sales questions or service requests to the right team. The bot can book meetings and qualify leads from within the chat window, and it can hand the conversation over to a live agent once qualified. Anything it collects gets synced back to your CRM.

That is a scripted chatflow. You decide the questions and the paths. It suits lead capture and routing very well. It is a different job from answering "Do you take my health fund?" from a page it has read.

Customer Agent is the AI product. HubSpot says you train it on your content and brand voice, and it can take action in your CRM, Shopify and other tools your team uses. HubSpot itself draws the line between the two: its Customer Agent page says traditional chatbots follow decision trees and break on unexpected questions. Customer Agent also works on WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.

What each one costs

HubSpot's free tools cost nothing. The chatbot builder page says the builder is available for free with no credit card required, with more features in the premium editions of Marketing Hub, Sales Hub, Service Hub and Content Hub.

Customer Agent is billed two ways at once. First, you need the right edition: HubSpot says Professional and Enterprise editions are required to access Customer Agent, which runs on HubSpot Credits. Second, you pay for outcomes: it is priced per conversation resolved, at $0.50 per resolution. HubSpot says some subscriptions include monthly credits and more can be bought as needed.

Here is the Service Hub price summary as HubSpot showed it when we checked on 28 September 2026. HubSpot states the prices are in USD and subject to applicable tax.

Three things to read carefully. The Starter discount is for new customers only and HubSpot says the offer is for a limited time. The paid Service Hub prices are per seat, so they grow with your team. And a HubSpot resolution has a definition: support was given by the agent and the conversation was not handed to a human rep for 72 hours. A lead the agent qualifies can also count.

Botsmith has one monthly price and a message count. Starter at US$19 covers one bot and 2,000 messages a month. Pro at US$49 covers five bots and 10,000 messages, and removes the "Powered by" badge. There are no seats and no per-resolution charge. If you want to compare other tools by how they meter usage, our guide to Chatbase alternatives sorts them that way.

The CRM question

This is where HubSpot is strongest. Its live chat page says each chat is stored in a universal inbox on HubSpot's free CRM. Your team can reply, take notes, create tickets and follow up from one place. You can set office hours and turn on email capture, so you can follow up on chats you missed.

Botsmith has no CRM, no help desk integrations and no public API. It does not log chats against a contact record. When a visitor leaves a name, phone or email, you get an email within seconds with the full transcript. Every conversation is also in your Botsmith dashboard. If your process lives in a CRM, you copy the lead across yourself.

Set-up and upkeep

With HubSpot's free builder, you write the conversation. That is quick for a simple flow, and it means the bot only says what you scripted. With Customer Agent, you train it on your content and set rules, then test before you go live.

With Botsmith, you enter your website address and upload any PDF, Word or Excel files that hold the rest. It answers from that content with source links. When it does not know, it says so rather than inventing a price or a policy. You add it with one script tag, or you share its link and QR code, which open straight into the chat. The main upkeep is keeping your own website accurate.

When HubSpot is the better choice

• You already use HubSpot CRM and want every chat tied to a contact, a deal or a ticket.
• A free, scripted bot is enough: collect a name, ask two questions, book a meeting, route to the right person.
• You have staff who reply to chats live, and you want office hours and a shared inbox.
• You are already on Service Hub Professional or Enterprise, so Customer Agent is an add-on, not a new platform.
• You need the AI to take actions in your CRM or Shopify, or to answer on WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.

When Botsmith is the better choice

• You do not use HubSpot, and you do not want a CRM just to get a website bot.
• Your answers are already on your website or in a price list PDF, and you want the bot to use them without scripting.
• You are a small team and per-seat pricing, or a Professional edition, is more than the job needs.
• You want one monthly figure rather than a bill that moves with resolutions.
• Nobody watches a chat inbox, so you would rather get an email with the transcript. Our guide to after-hours enquiries covers that set-up.

To be fair in the other direction: Botsmith cannot hand a chat to a person inside the window, and it cannot update your CRM. If either of those matters, it is the wrong tool.

Other tools worth a look

If you like the per-resolution model but do not use HubSpot, see Botsmith vs Intercom Fin. If you want a live chat inbox with an AI agent aimed at smaller shops, see Botsmith vs Tidio. Still deciding whether you need chat at all? Read chatbot vs contact form. Botsmith's own plans are on the pricing page, with a 14-day trial of 200 messages and no card. HubSpot's Service Hub page also offers a 14-day free trial.

HubSpot figures and quotations on this page come from HubSpot's Service Hub, Customer Agent, chatbot builder and live chat pages, checked on 28 September 2026. HubSpot shows prices in USD; they may differ in your region and can change. Botsmith figures come from our own pricing page.