What does HubSpot charge for its Prospecting Agent?
HubSpot charges $1 for each lead its Breeze Prospecting Agent recommends for outreach, paid as 100 HubSpot Credits. The change took effect on 14 April 2026, according to HubSpot's announcement (updated 13 April 2026), which says the agent moved from a recurring monthly charge for every contact enrolled. The same announcement moved Customer Agent from $1.00 per conversation to $0.50 per resolved conversation.
| Item | HubSpot's figure, checked 20 Oct 2026 | Where HubSpot states it |
|---|---|---|
| Price per lead | 100 credits for each lead the agent recommends outreach for | Product & Services Catalog rate sheet |
| Price per credit | $0.010, on pay-as-you-go (invoiced in steps of 10 credits) or in capacity packs of 1,000 credits for $10 a month | Product & Services Catalog |
| Credits included each month | Sales Hub Starter 500, Professional 3,000, Enterprise 5,000; they reset monthly and do not roll over | Catalog and Sales Hub pricing page |
| Editions | Starter, Professional and Enterprise (the April announcement said Pro and Enterprise) | Prospecting agent product page |
| Other one-time costs | Sales Hub Professional requires a one-time onboarding fee of $1,500 | Sales Hub pricing page |
What the agent does: HubSpot's product page says it monitors buying signals, scores accounts against your ideal customer profile, sources contacts from providers including ZoomInfo, Apollo and Surfe, and drafts emails in each rep's voice. To find new contacts, HubSpot's help article says you connect one external data source at a time, using your own login or API key for a provider such as Apollo, ZoomInfo or Surfe. You can review drafts before they send or switch to a fully autonomous mode. At its Fall 2026 Spotlight on 16 September 2026, HubSpot said the updated agent monitors 40+ buying signals and assembles a buying group.
Rates here are HubSpot's standard catalog rates. The catalog says customers on its flexible seats-and-credits pricing are subject to different credit rates.
What counts as a lead under HubSpot's per-lead pricing?
A lead counts when the agent writes outreach for it, whoever picked the lead. HubSpot's help article Set up and use the prospecting agent (last updated 14 October 2026) says the agent uses credits when it generates personalised email outreach for each lead, whether the agent recommended the lead or someone enrolled it manually.
HubSpot gives an example: the agent finds 10 leads from intent signals, you enrol 3 more from a target company, and if it writes outreach for all 13, credits are used for all 13. Three things follow for your budget:
- Your own lists cost the same. A lead you enrol yourself uses 100 credits once the agent writes outreach for it.
- Count outreach generated. HubSpot ties the charge to the agent generating outreach for a lead, so budget on the number of leads it writes for. The help article also says credits are used "with additional steps based on your play settings" and gives no rate for them, so check credit usage after the first week.
- Credits are shared. The same monthly pool powers HubSpot's other agents and AI features, and the catalog says included credits are not additive across products. Users with billing permissions can pause the agent's credit use.
Watch one setting in particular. The catalog says that if you configure automatic upgrades and usage goes past your monthly limit, your account is upgraded for the remainder of your term. Pay-as-you-go, by contrast, returns to your original limit on your reset date.
How do per-lead, per-seat and per-person pricing differ?
They charge for different things: a lead the agent works on, a person on your team, or a person the tool contacts. One current example of each, with prices checked on 20 October 2026:
| Model | Example | Billable unit | What the price covers, per the vendor | Paid separately |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per lead | HubSpot Prospecting Agent | 100 credits ($1) per lead it recommends outreach for | Billed when the agent recommends outreach for a lead; the agent also monitors signals, scores accounts and drafts emails | A paid HubSpot subscription (seats); your own data-provider account if the agent sources new contacts |
| Per seat | Valley Starter | $199 a seat a month billed monthly, or $149 billed quarterly | Prospecting, qualification, research and LinkedIn campaigns (LinkedIn only) | Credits for finding new prospects, finding and verifying emails, and upgraded message generation; email sending is an add-on |
| Per person contacted | AiSDR pay as you go | $1.50 per person contacted, charged daily | Research, lists and writing; email and LinkedIn; deliverability tools | Add-ons such as a warmed-up mailbox at $33 per mailbox setup |
AiSDR's main pricing page says $1.50 per person prospected, and its plain-text pricing page (last updated 15 October 2026) says per person contacted. The plain-text page says you pick a daily pace of 5, 10 or 20 people, and that team plans for 1,000+ contacts a month cost up to 40% less per contact.
These products do different jobs. HubSpot's agent works inside your HubSpot CRM, Valley Starter covers LinkedIn, and AiSDR runs email and LinkedIn. The model below compares how the bills behave, so treat it as a pricing comparison only. For a wider list of vendor prices, see how much an AI SDR costs.
What would a 3-person team pay in one month?
Between $370 and $600 for the AI part, under the assumptions below. Change any of them and the order can flip.
- Team: 3 people, each sending from their own accounts, so 3 seats on a per-seat plan.
- Volume: 400 new people reached in the month, or 20 a working day for 20 working days. That fits AiSDR's top pay-as-you-go pace of 20 a day.
- HubSpot: the agent writes outreach for 400 leads and you contact all of them. No other feature or play step uses credits. You already pay for Sales Hub Starter or Professional, and seat fees are left out because they vary by edition and billing term.
- Valley: Starter, billed monthly. Credits for finding new prospects are left out because Valley prices them separately, so the real figure is higher if Valley finds the prospects for you.
- AiSDR: pay as you go, no add-ons.
- All prices in US dollars, before tax, as listed on 20 October 2026.
| Option | Arithmetic | Month | Per person reached |
|---|---|---|---|
| HubSpot, Sales Hub Starter | 400 × 100 = 40,000 credits; minus 500 included = 39,500 × $0.010 | $395 | $0.99 |
| HubSpot, Sales Hub Professional | 40,000 − 3,000 included = 37,000 × $0.010 | $370 | $0.93 |
| Valley Starter, 3 seats | 3 × $199 | $597 | $1.49 |
| Valley Starter, 3 seats, billed quarterly | 3 × $149 | $447 | $1.12 |
| AiSDR, pay as you go | 400 × $1.50 | $600 | $1.50 |
If you buy HubSpot capacity packs instead of pay-as-you-go, Starter needs 40 packs of 1,000 credits ($400 a month) and Professional needs 37 ($370), and the catalog says packs raise your limit for the rest of your commitment term.
How does the monthly bill change with volume?
Per-lead and per-person bills move with volume, while a per-seat bill moves with headcount. The same assumptions at three volumes:
| People reached a month | HubSpot Starter credits | HubSpot Pro credits | Valley Starter, 3 seats | Valley Starter, 1 seat | AiSDR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | $95 | $70 | $597 | $199 | $150 |
| 200 | $195 | $170 | $597 | $199 | $300 |
| 400 | $395 | $370 | $597 | $199 | $600 |
Where the lines cross, by our arithmetic:
- AiSDR against 3 Valley seats: $597 ÷ $1.50 = 398 people a month. Below that, paying per person costs less.
- AiSDR against 1 Valley seat: $199 ÷ $1.50 = about 133 people. If only the founder sends, a single seat costs less from about 133 people a month.
- HubSpot Starter against 3 Valley seats: the credit cost works out to $1 per lead minus $5 of included credits, so it reaches $597 at 602 leads a month.
- Included credits alone: 500 credits cover 5 leads on Starter, 3,000 cover 30 on Professional and 5,000 cover 50 on Enterprise, if nothing else uses them.
At AiSDR's full 40% team-plan discount, the per-person price would be $1.50 × 0.6 = $0.90, but AiSDR's plain-text page says those plans are for teams contacting 1,000+ people a month, on quarterly or annual contracts.
Which pricing model fits a small team?
Pick the model whose billable unit matches how you work. Our advice, based on the arithmetic above:
- Already on HubSpot and emailing modest volume: per lead is the cheapest add-on in this model, as long as you budget for every lead the agent writes for, including ones you enrol.
- Several people running LinkedIn every day: per seat gives a fixed seat fee, and it gets cheaper per person as each seat sends more.
- Testing, or uneven months: per person contacted keeps spend tied to use. AiSDR, for example, lets you stop at any time and sets daily spend through the pace you pick.
Siela takes a mixed approach, with monthly plans and AI usage billed as credits; current prices are in the app. Whatever you pick, judge it on cost per booked meeting after a full month, which our AI SDR cost guide shows how to work out. Before you sign, ask each vendor five questions:
What exactly is billed?
A lead found, a draft written, a message sent or a person contacted. HubSpot bills on outreach generated; AiSDR on people contacted.
Do leads I bring count?
On HubSpot they do, once the agent writes outreach for them. Ask the same of any per-lead tool.
What is not included?
Contact data, email finding, mailboxes and LinkedIn plans can be extra. On Valley, for example, finding new prospects uses credits.
How do I cap spend?
HubSpot lets you set credit limits for specific features; AiSDR's pace sets a daily ceiling. Set the cap before the first run.
What is the minimum term?
Monthly, quarterly or annual changes what a failed test costs you. Run a one-month test on the shortest term on offer.
For tools sized to a small team, see our list of AI SDR tools for small business.
Frequently asked questions
How much does HubSpot's Prospecting Agent cost per lead?
Since 14 April 2026, HubSpot has charged 100 HubSpot Credits, or $1 at $0.010 a credit, for each lead its Prospecting Agent recommends outreach for. You also need a paid HubSpot subscription. Sales Hub Starter includes 500 credits a month, Professional 3,000 and Enterprise 5,000, and unused credits do not roll over.
Do leads I enrol myself in HubSpot's Prospecting Agent use credits?
Yes. HubSpot's help article, last updated 14 October 2026, says the agent uses credits when it generates personalised email outreach for each lead, whether the agent recommended the lead or someone enrolled it manually. In HubSpot's example, 10 recommended leads plus 3 enrolled by hand use credits for all 13.
How many leads do HubSpot's included credits cover?
At 100 credits per lead, Sales Hub Starter's 500 included credits cover 5 leads a month, Professional's 3,000 cover 30 and Enterprise's 5,000 cover 50. That assumes no other HubSpot agent or AI feature uses the same credits. Beyond that, extra credits cost $0.010 each, so each further lead costs $1.
Is per-lead pricing cheaper than per-seat pricing for an AI SDR?
It depends on volume and how many people send. In our model, HubSpot's credit cost on Sales Hub Starter stays below three Valley Starter seats ($597 a month) until about 602 leads a month, before HubSpot seat fees. With one sender, a single $199 seat costs less than AiSDR's $1.50 per person above about 133 people.
What did HubSpot's Prospecting Agent cost before April 2026?
HubSpot's announcement, updated 13 April 2026, says the Prospecting Agent moved from a recurring monthly charge for every contact enrolled to $1.00 per lead recommended for outreach, starting 14 April. The announcement does not state the old per-contact rate, and the change is paid through HubSpot Credits at 100 credits per recommended lead.
Sources
- HubSpot: HubSpot's Customer Agent and Prospecting Agent: Now you pay when the task is complete (updated 13 Apr 2026)
- HubSpot: Fall 2026 Spotlight (updated 16 Sep 2026)
- HubSpot: Prospecting agent product page (checked 20 Oct 2026)
- HubSpot Product & Services Catalog: HubSpot Credits and rate sheet (checked 20 Oct 2026)
- HubSpot Knowledge Base: Set up and use the prospecting agent (last updated 14 Oct 2026)
- HubSpot: Sales Hub pricing (checked 20 Oct 2026)
- Valley: pricing (prices updated 19 Oct 2026; checked 20 Oct 2026)
- AiSDR: pricing (checked 20 Oct 2026)
- AiSDR: pricing in plain text (last updated 15 Oct 2026)