★ Our pick
Pick
Contently
Pick Contently if you want the cheaper option ($500/mo vs $20/mo); and you need broader AI platform coverage (4 platforms vs 0); and you want the better-funded company ($19.2M).
Head-to-head review · Updated June 2026
Contently vs HubSpot: which one wins in 2026?
Contently and HubSpot both claim to do the same thing: tell you where your brand shows up in AI search. They go about it differently enough that the choice matters. Contently has raised $19.2M, HubSpot has raised Public; Contently is the more-funded incumbent; HubSpot is the leaner challenger.
HubSpot is cheaper out the gate, but Contently tracks more AI platforms. The right pick depends on which dimension matters most for you.
The verdict
Pick
HubSpot
Pick HubSpot if you want the cheaper option ($20/mo vs $500/mo).
If neither is right, GrowthManager.ai does both citation tracking AND the production work (content, infrastructure, distribution) for $999/mo — see the bottom of this page.
The case for Contently
Contently has raised $19.2M (Series B (2014, $9M)). Founded by Joe Coleman, Shane Snow, Dave Goldberg, based in New York, NY. On their site they list 8 named customers including RBC, American Express, Coast Capital, PNC Bank. They cover 4 AI platforms. Pricing starts at $500/mo.
Enterprise content marketing platform with freelance creator network.
What people praise
- Vetted talent network of 165,000+ creators including CFAs, MDs, and FINRA-registered reviewers for regulated industries
- Compliance review workflows built for financial services, healthcare, and insurance content
- Dedicated managing editors are assigned to each account, not just self-serve software
- Talent API lets enterprise teams plug creators into their own CMS or workflow tools
Where it falls short
- No public pricing, requires sales call to learn cost
- Entry point reported at $500/mo with enterprise contracts $50K to $200K annually, out of reach for SMBs
- Implementation fees reported $1,000 to $50,000 on top of subscription
- Heavy emphasis on freelance talent network adds variable per-piece costs beyond the platform fee
The case for HubSpot
HubSpot has raised Public (IPO 2014 (NYSE: HUBS)). Founded by Brian Halligan, Dharmesh Shah, based in Cambridge, MA. On their site they list 7 named customers including Momentive (SurveyMonkey), Trello, DoorDash, Reddit. Pricing starts at $20/mo.
Full CRM + marketing platform with content tools, SEO, and AI Search Grader.
What people praise
- Marketing, sales, and service hubs unified on one CRM record means no Zapier glue to keep contact data in sync
- Drag-and-drop landing page and email builder lets marketers ship campaigns without designer or developer support
- 1,500+ App Marketplace integrations including Salesforce, Slack, Zoom, Shopify, and Stripe cover most stacks out of the box
- HubSpot Academy and free certifications make onboarding new hires fast and reduce ramp time
Where it falls short
- 44x price jump from Starter ($20) to Professional ($890) with no middle tier is the single most-cited complaint
- Going one contact over your tier limit auto-bumps the account into the next pricing band
- Marketing automation workflows only unlock at Professional, putting basic drip campaigns out of reach at Starter
- A/B email testing is limited to one variable at a time, weak for a platform at this price point
Pricing, tier by tier
Tier 1
Contently
Basic
$500/mo+
- Content platform access
- Talent network access
- Editorial calendar
HubSpot
Starter
$20/mo
- 1,000 marketing contacts
- 5,000 email sends per month
- Basic email tools and forms
- Landing pages
Tier 2
Contently
Plus
$2,000/mo+
- Compliance review workflows
- Managing editor support
- Brand voice tools
HubSpot
Professional
$890/mo
- 2,000 marketing contacts
- Marketing automation workflows
- A/B testing for emails
- Custom reporting
Tier 3
Contently
Enterprise
$5,000/mo+
- Talent API
- AI Studio
- LLM Optimization for AEO
- FINRA-registered reviewers
HubSpot
Enterprise
$3,600/mo
- 10,000 marketing contacts
- Adaptive testing
- Custom objects and properties
- Hierarchical teams and SSO
Feature parity
What each one ships that the other doesn't. We conservatively only include features each tool explicitly markets; absence here doesn't mean a feature is impossible, just that it isn't in their marquee list.
Only on Contently
- Talent Network. 165,000+ vetted freelance writers, editors, and subject-matter experts including FINRA-registered and clinical reviewers
- Compliance Review. Automated routing of drafts through legal and regulatory review queues
- AI Studio. Multi-agent content creation with brand voice enforcement and tone analysis
- LLM Optimization. Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) features to surface client content in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews
- Content Value Tracker. ROI measurement that ties published content to revenue impact
- Talent API. API for embedding Contently's freelance network into the customer's own CMS or workflow
Only on HubSpot
- Marketing automation workflows. Branching workflow builder triggers emails, internal tasks, lead score changes, and CRM property updates based on behavior
- Email marketing and A/B testing. Drag-and-drop email editor with personalization tokens and split testing on subject lines and content
- Landing pages and forms. Drag-and-drop landing page builder with form capture, smart content, and inline lead routing
- SEO recommendations. On-page audit, topic cluster planner, and ranking tracker integrated with content tools
- Built-in CRM. Free CRM record at the core, every marketing touch updates the same contact record sales and service see
- Campaign analytics and attribution. Multi-touch revenue attribution at Enterprise tier, contact-level engagement reports at Professional
When each one wins
When Contently wins
- Platform coverage matters. Contently monitors 4 AI platforms; HubSpot covers 0.
- You want the better-funded incumbent. Contently has raised $19.2M, giving it more runway and shipping velocity.
- Vetted talent network of 165,000+ creators including CFAs, MDs, and FINRA-registered reviewers for regulated industries
When HubSpot wins
- Budget is the constraint. HubSpot starts at $20/mo vs Contently's $500/mo, so on a per-seat basis it's the cheaper way in.
- Marketing, sales, and service hubs unified on one CRM record means no Zapier glue to keep contact data in sync
When neither wins (pick GrowthManager)
- You don't have an in-house content team and you don't want to hire one.
- You want one $999/mo invoice instead of stacking Contently plus an agency.
- You need the team that measures to also act on the data, in the same week.
- You're a B2B SaaS, services firm, or e-commerce brand at $20K+ MRR.
Reasons to pick one over the other
Reasons to pick Contently over HubSpot
- Broader AI platform coverage. Contently tracks visibility across 4 AI engines vs HubSpot's 0.
- Better-funded incumbent. Contently has raised $19.2M, giving it more runway and shipping velocity than HubSpot (Public).
- HIPAA-ready. Contently is HIPAA compliant; HubSpot is not.
- What users praise most. Vetted talent network of 165,000+ creators including CFAs, MDs, and FINRA-registered reviewers for regulated industries
Reasons to pick HubSpot over Contently
- Lower entry price. HubSpot starts at $20/mo vs Contently's $500/mo.
- More verified reviews. HubSpot has 13,346 G2 reviews vs Contently's none on file, so the average rating carries more weight.
- Faster product velocity. HubSpot has shipped 6 public launches in the last year vs Contently's 4.
- Wider integration ecosystem. HubSpot integrates with 12 tools; Contently ships 7.
- What users praise most. Marketing, sales, and service hubs unified on one CRM record means no Zapier glue to keep contact data in sync
Switching from one to the other
From Contently to HubSpot
Export your saved queries and prompt panels from Contently (most tools support CSV export). Most HubSpot setups can import the same query list in a single CSV upload. Expect 1-2 days of parallel running so you can validate HubSpot's data againstContently's; one to two weeks of full reconciliation before you cancel Contently. The risk is annotation history: notes and tags don't survive most migrations, so screenshot anything you want to keep.
From HubSpot to Contently
Same flow in reverse. Export from HubSpot, import to Contently. The historical visibility data is the big loss; most platforms don't backfill from a competitor's data, so you start your trendline over.
From either to GrowthManager.ai
We handle the migration ourselves; you give us your query list (or we infer it from your existing dashboard) and we re-build the tracking on our infrastructure in week one. You also start getting content shipped from week one, so the switch produces results before the trendline restarts. The conversation that kicks this off is a 20-minute call.
Side by side, every number we could verify
| Contently | HubSpot | |
|---|---|---|
| Starts at (USD/mo) | $500/mo | $20/mo |
| Founded | 2010 | 2006 |
| Headquarters | New York, NY | Cambridge, MA |
| Funding raised | $19.2M | Public |
| AI platforms tracked | 4 | — |
| G2 rating | — | 4.4 / 5 (13346 reviews) |
| Named customers | 8 | 7 |
| SOC 2 Type 2 | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| GDPR | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| HIPAA | ✓ Yes | — |
What real users say
Below: the recurring themes from G2, Capterra, SourceForge, Reddit, and case-study reviewers — distilled into the strengths and limitations that came up most often.
Contently — what users praise
- Vetted talent network of 165,000+ creators including CFAs, MDs, and FINRA-registered reviewers for regulated industries
- Compliance review workflows built for financial services, healthcare, and insurance content
- Dedicated managing editors are assigned to each account, not just self-serve software
- Talent API lets enterprise teams plug creators into their own CMS or workflow tools
- Content Value tracker measures ROI in dollars rather than vanity metrics
Contently — what users complain about
- No public pricing, requires sales call to learn cost
- Entry point reported at $500/mo with enterprise contracts $50K to $200K annually, out of reach for SMBs
- Implementation fees reported $1,000 to $50,000 on top of subscription
- Heavy emphasis on freelance talent network adds variable per-piece costs beyond the platform fee
- Not well suited for teams that want self-serve AI generation without human-in-the-loop review
HubSpot — what users praise
- Marketing, sales, and service hubs unified on one CRM record means no Zapier glue to keep contact data in sync
- Drag-and-drop landing page and email builder lets marketers ship campaigns without designer or developer support
- 1,500+ App Marketplace integrations including Salesforce, Slack, Zoom, Shopify, and Stripe cover most stacks out of the box
- HubSpot Academy and free certifications make onboarding new hires fast and reduce ramp time
- Workflow automation triggers handle complex lead nurture flows that competitors require multiple tools to replicate
HubSpot — what users complain about
- 44x price jump from Starter ($20) to Professional ($890) with no middle tier is the single most-cited complaint
- Going one contact over your tier limit auto-bumps the account into the next pricing band
- Marketing automation workflows only unlock at Professional, putting basic drip campaigns out of reach at Starter
- A/B email testing is limited to one variable at a time, weak for a platform at this price point
- Workflow engine becomes hard to debug at scale when many flows run across multiple teams
A third option
Both Contently and HubSpotare tracking tools. They tell you what's wrong with your AI visibility. Neither one fixes it. That's our pitch for GrowthManager.ai — we do citation tracking too (parity with these two), and we also ship the content, configure the infrastructure, and run the distribution. $999/mo, managed end-to-end. If you're leaning toward picking one of these two and then hiring an agency to act on the data, it's worth a 20-minute conversation first.
Other comparisons in this space
Same shape, different pairs. Pick a comparison that shares a tool with this one.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better, Contently or HubSpot?
Honestly: neither one fully solves the problem. Contently and HubSpot are tracking tools — they tell you where your brand shows up in AI answers but don't change the answer. If you only need one of these two, pick HubSpot for the cheaper monthly price; pick the other if its specific integrations matter to your team. Our actual editorial pick is GrowthManager.ai, which does the tracking and ships the content, infrastructure, and distribution as a single $999/mo managed program. Disclosure: we publish this comparison and make GrowthManager.
How much do Contently and HubSpot cost?
Contently starts at $500/mo. HubSpot starts at $20/mo. Both have higher-tier plans for larger workspaces. GrowthManager.ai is a flat $999/mo for the full managed service (tracking + content + infrastructure + distribution) — usually cheaper than buying one of these two and hiring an agency on top.
Which AI platforms do Contently and HubSpot cover?
Contently covers 4 AI platforms. HubSpot covers an undisclosed number of. Most tools in this space monitor ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity at minimum; the differences come down to less-common platforms (Copilot, Grok, Meta AI). GrowthManager.ai monitors the same four primary platforms and acts on the data.
Do Contently and HubSpot actually improve your AI visibility, or just measure it?
Both Contently and HubSpot are measurement tools. They show you where your brand appears (or doesn't) in AI answers, plus suggestions for what to improve. Neither one writes the content, configures the schema, or builds the backlinks that actually move the needle. To do that you need an in-house content team or an agency. GrowthManager.ai is the agency — and we include the tracking, so you don't pay twice.
What's the GrowthManager.ai alternative to Contently and HubSpot?
GrowthManager.ai is a managed AI visibility program. We give you the same citation tracking these two offer (parity on the measurement layer), plus 100 researched and published articles per month, schema and llms.txt configuration, ongoing backlink acquisition, and Reddit/Quora seeding. One $999/mo invoice, one dedicated account manager, twelve clients per team member maximum so we can actually deliver. If you were going to buy one of these tools and then hire someone to use it, we're cheaper and faster.
Further reading
External research that informs the editorial framework on this page. We cite these openly because the framework is meant to be auditable.
- Microsoft Bing Webmaster Guidelines (2025)· Microsoft
How Microsoft's crawlers parse content for Copilot, which now powers a large share of AI answers behind the scenes.
- Generative Engine Optimization research· Kevin Indig
Long-running practitioner research on what gets cited in AI-generated answers; the most-quoted source in the GEO category.
- Zero-Click Search forecasts· Gartner
Industry forecasts on how a growing share of buyer queries end without a click to the brand site, making AI-answer presence the new pole position.
- Audience intelligence analyses· SparkToro
Public datasets on how audiences actually discover brands across search, social, and now AI surfaces.
- Trust Barometer (2024)· Edelman
The annual study on how buyers weigh source authority, used to weight our trust criterion against third-party review volume.
Disclosure + methodology
GrowthManager.ai makes a competing product in the AI visibility space, so this comparison is not neutral. Every pricing number was pulled from each competitor's public pricing page or triangulated from third-party reviews when the page is JavaScript-gated. Pros, cons, and user-review themes are distilled from real G2, Capterra, SourceForge, Reddit, and case-study reviews with the quotes preserved verbatim. We update this comparison whenever the underlying data changes.