--- title: "HubSpot vs Smartlead: Which is more popular?" description: "Is HubSpot or Smartlead more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Cold email and sales engagement platforms set worldwide. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/hubspot-vs-smartlead" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # HubSpot vs Smartlead: Which is more popular? Is HubSpot or Smartlead more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Cold email and sales engagement platforms set worldwide. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Compared**: HubSpot and Smartlead - **Competitive set**: Cold email and sales engagement platforms - **Market**: Global - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **HubSpot Share of Search**: 0.39% - **Smartlead Share of Search**: 9.4% ## Is HubSpot or Smartlead more popular in search? - In September 2026, Smartlead had more branded searches than HubSpot among cold email and sales engagement platforms worldwide. Smartlead had about 45,900 branded searches, while HubSpot had 1,900. Smartlead made up 9.4% of all cold email and sales engagement platform searches we track, and HubSpot accounted for 0.39%. - Smartlead was ahead of HubSpot in every measured month of the 11 months ending September 2026. - Across the 11 months ending September 2026, HubSpot’s share of searches among cold email and sales engagement platforms worldwide moved from 0.59% to 0.39%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 2.4K to 1.9K. - Across the 11 months ending September 2026, Smartlead’s share of searches among cold email and sales engagement platforms worldwide moved from 7.7% to 9.4%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 31.5K to 45.9K. ## Top cold email and sales engagement platforms in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, HubSpot appeared in all five answers. Smartlead did not appear in any of the five answers. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Outreach | 1st | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Apollo | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Salesloft | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | HubSpot | 4th | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Reply.io | 5th | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Instantly | 6th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | lemlist | 7th | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Smartlead | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Woodpecker | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about cold email and sales engagement platforms - Asked ChatGPT "Which sales engagement platform should I use?": 1. Apollo, 2. Outreach, 3. Salesloft, 4. HubSpot, 5. Reply.io, 6. Instantly - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best sales engagement platforms?": 1. Outreach, 2. Salesloft, 3. Apollo, 4. HubSpot, 5. Reply.io - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best sales engagement platform for an outbound sales team?": 1. Apollo, 2. Outreach, 3. Salesloft, 4. HubSpot - Searched Google, AI Overview "sales engagement platforms": 1. Outreach, 2. Salesloft, 3. Apollo, 4. Reply.io, 5. HubSpot - Searched Google, AI Overview "sales engagement software": 1. HubSpot, 2. Outreach, 3. Salesloft, 4. Apollo, 5. Instantly, 6. lemlist, 7. Reply.io Not named in any answer: Smartlead and Woodpecker. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in the United States on October 20, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for cold email and sales engagement platforms worldwide in September 2026? - Estimated monthly branded searches for Smartlead worldwide rose 45.7% over 11 measured months, from 31.5K to 45.9K in September 2026. - Estimated monthly branded searches for HubSpot worldwide fell 20.8% over 11 measured months, from 2.4K to 1.9K in September 2026. ## How has branded search for HubSpot and Smartlead changed worldwide over the last 12 months? | Month | HubSpot estimated searches | HubSpot Share of Search | HubSpot rank | Smartlead estimated searches | Smartlead Share of Search | Smartlead rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Nov 2025 | 2.4K | 0.59% | 7 | 31.5K | 7.7% | 5 | | Dec 2025 | 2.4K | 0.74% | 7 | 26.6K | 8.2% | 5 | | Jan 2026 | 2.9K | 0.73% | 6 | 31.5K | 8% | 5 | | Feb 2026 | 2.9K | 0.7% | 6 | 32.5K | 7.9% | 5 | | Mar 2026 | 2.9K | 0.55% | 8 | 38.5K | 7.3% | 4 | | Apr 2026 | 2.9K | 0.49% | 7 | 38.5K | 6.5% | 4 | | May 2026 | 2.4K | 0.48% | 8 | 38.5K | 7.6% | 4 | | Jun 2026 | 2.4K | 0.54% | 8 | 38.5K | 8.7% | 3 | | Jul 2026 | 1.9K | 0.43% | 8 | 38.5K | 8.7% | 3 | | Aug 2026 | 1.9K | 0.47% | 8 | 38.5K | 9.4% | 3 | | Sep 2026 | 1.9K | 0.39% | 8 | 45.9K | 9.4% | 3 | | Oct 2026 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ## How are HubSpot’s and Smartlead’s branded searches counted? Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using HubSpot’s and Smartlead’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **HubSpot**: Measured on the search term “hubspot sales hub”. - **Smartlead**: Measured on the search terms “Smartlead”, “smartlead ai” and “smartlead.ai”, summed into one figure. - [HubSpot profile](/demand/global-en/brands/hubspot) - [Smartlead profile](/demand/global-en/brands/smartlead) - [All cold email and sales engagement platforms worldwide](/demand/global-en/categories/cold-email-and-sales-engagement-platforms): The set both shares are measured inside, 9 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is HubSpot or Smartlead more popular in search? In September 2026, Smartlead had more branded searches than HubSpot among cold email and sales engagement platforms worldwide. Smartlead had about 45,900 branded searches, while HubSpot had 1,900. Smartlead made up 9.4% of all cold email and sales engagement platform searches we track, and HubSpot accounted for 0.39%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "HubSpot vs Smartlead: Which is more popular?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/hubspot-vs-smartlead This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/hubspot-vs-smartlead. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.