Repetitive tasks slow down your team. Marketing struggles to engage leads, sales loses track of follow-ups, and customer success is buried in manual work. Automation should help, but choosing the wrong tool can make things worse.
Many businesses confuse HubSpot Workflows and Sequences, assuming they do the same thing. This leads to inefficient automation and missed opportunities. While both automate processes, they serve different purposes: Workflows handle large-scale automation, while Sequences keep sales outreach structured and personal.
This blog breaks down HubSpot Workflows vs. Sequences, explaining how they work, their key differences, and when to use each so you can choose the right automation tool for your business needs.
Understanding Automation in HubSpot
Automation helps businesses responsive without manual effort for every interaction. In HubSpot, two key automation tools—Workflows and Sequences—help teams automate communication, but they serve different purposes. Workflows handle broad, system-wide automation, while Sequences focus on personalized, one-to-one outreach.
Before comparing them, it’s important to understand why automation matters in marketing, sales, and customer service.
How Automation Impacts Sales, Marketing, and Customer Service
Automation ensures businesses stay organized and engaged with prospects. It helps teams stay proactive. Here’s how automation makes an impact across different business functions:
Faster Lead Response: A study by Harvard Business Review found that businesses that respond within five minutes are 100x more likely to connect with a lead than those that wait an hour. Automation ensures quick follow-ups.
Consistent Follow-Ups: Sales reps often miss follow-ups. Automation keeps them on track with triggered emails, reminders, and tasks.
Lead Nurturing: Not all leads are ready to buy. Workflows can send content over time, keeping prospects engaged.
Fewer Mistakes: Manually assigning leads, updating deal stages, or sending reminders leaves room for mistakes. Automation ensures actions happen as planned.
Personalized Customer Engagement: Automation helps send timely, relevant interactions, from welcome emails to renewal reminders.
What is a HubSpot Workflow?
A HubSpot Workflow is a rule-based automation that triggers actions based on specific conditions. These actions can include sending emails, updating records, assigning tasks, or notifying teams. Workflows help businesses automate repetitive tasks, ensuring leads, customers, and internal teams stay connected without manual effort.
How Businesses Use HubSpot Workflows
Lead Nurturing: When someone fills out a form, a Workflow can send follow-up emails and update their lifecycle stage based on engagement.
Lead Assignment: New leads can be automatically assigned to the right sales rep based on factors like location or company size.
Follow-Ups: If a lead hasn’t responded after a set period, Workflows can send a reminder email or create a task for a sales rep to call them.
Customer Onboarding: New customers receive a series of welcome emails, tutorials, and check-ins to help them get started.
Renewal Reminders: When a contract is about to expire, a Workflow can trigger a renewal email and notify the account manager.
Internal Alerts: Sales teams get notified when a lead reaches a specific engagement score, allowing them to follow up when interest is high.
Who Uses HubSpot Workflows?
Marketing Teams: Automate email nurturing, lead scoring, and segmentation.
Sales Teams: Assign leads, track engagement, and trigger follow-ups.
Customer Success Teams: Manage onboarding, send surveys, and track renewals.
Operations Teams: Maintain data accuracy, update records, and automate internal handoffs.
What is a HubSpot Sequence?
A HubSpot Sequence is an automated email cadence designed to help sales reps follow up with leads in a structured, timely manner. Instead of sending individual emails or setting reminders, reps can enroll prospects into a Sequence that delivers scheduled emails and creates tasks, stopping automatically if the prospect replies.
How Sales Teams Use HubSpot Sequences
Personalized Follow-Ups: After a demo, reps can send a series of follow-up emails introducing case studies, pricing details, and next steps.
Cold Prospecting: Reps can set up an outreach sequence with multiple emails and call reminders to stay persistent without overwhelming prospects.
Consistent Sales Follow-Ups: Leads often need multiple touchpoints before engaging. A Sequence can space out follow-ups over days or weeks.
Internal Sales Reminders: Sequences can assign tasks for reps to make calls, check in with prospects, or review deal statuses, ensuring no lead is left unattended.
Who Uses HubSpot Sequences?
Sales Teams: The primary users, using Sequences to automate outreach, follow-ups, and reminders.
Business Development Representatives (BDRs): Use Sequences to engage inbound and outbound leads with structured email cadences.
HubSpot Workflows vs. Sequences: Breaking Down the Key Differences
HubSpot Workflows and Sequences both automate tasks, but they serve different audiences, goals, and levels of personalization. Here’s how they compare:
Purpose and Use Case
Workflows: Designed for mass automation, Workflows handle marketing campaigns, sales processes, and customer service interactions. They nurture leads, assign contacts, send internal notifications, and update properties based on contact behavior.
Sequences: Built for sales teams, Sequences automate individual follow-ups. Instead of handling bulk tasks, they help sales reps stay on top of their outreach by sending scheduled emails and creating follow-up reminders.
Where to Find It in HubSpot
Workflows: Located in the Automation section, available in HubSpot Marketing Hub, Sales Hub, Service Hub, and Operations Hub Professional & Enterprise tiers. Since Workflows can span across departments, they provide flexibility for complex automation.
Sequences: Found under Sales Tools, available in HubSpot Sales Hub and Service Hub Professional & Enterprise tiers. They’re meant for sales reps managing one-to-one outreach, so they don’t integrate across multiple hubs the way Workflows do.
Enrollment Process
Workflows: Can automatically enroll contacts, companies, deals, and tickets based on triggers such as form submissions, lifecycle stage changes, or property updates. This makes them effective for automating engagement.
Sequences: Require manual enrollment by a sales rep. Unlike Workflows, they aren’t triggered automatically since each contact must be added deliberately to ensure the outreach remains personal.
Type of Emails Sent
Workflows: Send bulk automated emails (marketing emails) designed for large-scale engagement, such as lead nurturing, event promotions, or onboarding sequences. These emails are branded and often come from a generic company address.
Sequences: Send one-to-one sales emails from a rep’s personal inbox, making them appear as direct, manually written messages. These emails are more personalized and ideal for prospecting and follow-ups.
Triggers
Workflows: These are activated by automated triggers, such as a form submission, a deal reaching a specific stage, or a customer taking a specific action. This allows businesses to set up processes that run automatically.
Sequences: Start only when a sales rep manually enrolls a contact. There are no automatic triggers, ensuring outreach is intentional and targeted at high-value prospects.
Unenrollment Conditions
Workflows: Continue running until a condition is met (e.g., a contact reaches a certain lifecycle stage or completes an action). Some Workflows allow if/then branching, creating multiple automation paths based on contact behavior.
Sequences: Automatically unenroll a contact as soon as they reply to an email or book a meeting. This prevents redundant outreach and ensures prospects aren’t overwhelmed with unnecessary follow-ups.
Engagement Tracking and Reporting
Workflows: Offer detailed performance metrics, including email opens, clicks, conversion rates, and A/B testing insights. Since Workflows are used at scale, businesses can analyze trends across large audiences.
Sequences: Focus on individual engagement, providing sales reps with data on who opened, clicked, or ignored their emails. This helps them refine their one-to-one outreach strategies.
Compliance
Workflows: Send marketing emails, which require opt-in consent under regulations like GDPR and CAN-SPAM. Contacts must be subscribed to receive these emails.
Sequences: Send sales emails, which do not require a subscription but still need to follow best practices to avoid spam complaints.
Level of Customization
Workflows: Offer advanced customization with if/then branches, delays, and conditional triggers. This allows businesses to build complex, multi-step automation.
Sequences: Offer simple linear automation, consisting of a set number of emails (typically 3-5 emails) and task reminders with no branching or conditional logic.
Internal vs. External Actions
Workflows: Automate both external communication and internal processes, including assigning leads, updating CRM properties, sending internal notifications, and triggering tasks across departments.
Sequences: Focus only on external outreach, ensuring sales reps follow up with prospects in a structured way.
Scalability
Workflows: Designed for scaling operations, handling thousands of contacts at once. Best for businesses needing automated lead nurturing, deal management, and customer retention strategies.
Sequences: Limited by manual enrollment, making them ideal for high-value leads and targeted sales efforts rather than mass outreach.
To sum up, if you’re automating large-scale marketing, sales, or customer service processes, Workflows are the right fit. If you’re focusing on one-to-one follow-ups and outreach, Sequences are what you need.
How Do Workflows and Sequences Work?
Both Workflows and Sequences automate tasks, but they function differently. Workflows handle broad, multi-step automation for marketing, sales, and service, while Sequences help sales teams manage personalized follow-ups.
How HubSpot Workflows Work
Workflows are designed for scaling engagement and internal processes. They use triggers, actions, and logic to automate repetitive tasks, ensuring leads and customers receive the right follow-up without manual effort.
Define a Trigger: Every workflow starts with a trigger. This could be a form submission, deal stage update, or a contact reaching a certain lifecycle stage. Triggers dictate when and how contacts enter the workflow.
Set Up Actions: Once triggered, the workflow carries out actions like sending emails, updating CRM properties, assigning tasks to sales reps, or rotating leads. These steps replace manual tasks, keeping teams organized.
Apply If/Then Logic: Workflows allow conditional paths, meaning contacts receive different actions based on their behavior. For example, if a lead opens an email but doesn’t click a link, the workflow can send a different follow-up than someone who clicked through.
Monitor and Optimize Performance: HubSpot provides detailed performance metrics, allowing teams to see open rates, conversion rates, and engagement trends. Adjusting workflows based on data helps improve effectiveness.
How HubSpot Sequences Work
Sequences help sales reps stay on top of one-to-one outreach. Unlike Workflows, which run automatically, Sequences require manual enrollment and focus on nurturing individual leads through a structured follow-up process.
Manually Enroll a Contact: A sales rep chooses specific prospects to enter a Sequence. This ensures outreach is targeted and intentional rather than automated at scale.
Define a Series of Emails & Tasks: A Sequence includes multiple steps, such as sending an initial email, scheduling a follow-up, or setting a call reminder. Each step happens in a fixed order.
Customize Messages for Personalization: Emails in a Sequence come from the sales rep’s personal inbox, making them look and feel like manually written messages. Reps can adjust templates to match the prospect’s situation.
Automatically Unenroll Contacts When They Reply or Take Action: If a lead responds or books a meeting, they are automatically removed from the Sequence. This prevents unnecessary follow-ups and keeps outreach relevant.
Workflows vs. Sequences: When to Use Each
Choosing between Workflows and Sequences depends on when and how automation should take place. The key is identifying the right trigger, whether it’s an early-stage engagement or a later sales interaction. Understanding also when to use each prevents unnecessary automation while keeping processes efficient and personal.
Use Workflows When
You need automated lead nurturing and internal process automation: Workflows guide leads through a nurturing journey and handle internal tasks like assigning leads, updating records, or notifying teams.
You want to trigger actions based on contact behavior: Workflows can respond to actions like form submissions, content downloads, or webinar attendance by sending emails, updating lead status, or notifying a sales rep.
You are managing large-scale marketing and customer retention efforts: Workflows help maintain long-term engagement, such as onboarding, retention campaigns, or re-engagement, without requiring manual effort.
You need to set up a single, individualized task: If the next step is a one-time action, like assigning a rep to follow up, Workflows can automate that task.
Use Sequences When
You need a structured follow-up process for individual sales leads: Sequences ensure leads receive consistent outreach with pre-scheduled emails and task reminders.
Your sales reps need a reminder system for outreach: If a rep forgets to follow up, opportunities get lost. Sequences prompt them with scheduled emails, call reminders, and task notifications.
You want to automate repetitive sales tasks while keeping a personal touch: Emails in a Sequence are pre-written but can be customized before sending, making communication efficient but still engaging.
The trigger event signals a lead is ready for direct sales engagement: Once a lead is sales-qualified (SQL), reps can enroll them in a Sequence for structured follow-ups, such as scheduling a demo.
A simple way to decide between Workflows and Sequences is to determine when the trigger action should happen. Workflows are best suited for early-funnel tasks like assigning leads, setting reminders, or nurturing prospects. Sequences, on the other hand, are more effective later in the funnel once a lead is qualified and ready for structured sales outreach.
If the next step is a one-time task, use a Workflow. If it requires ongoing communication, a Sequence ensures timely, consistent follow-ups.
How Workflows and Sequences Work Together
Workflows and Sequences serve different purposes but complement each other when used strategically. Using Workflows and Sequences in tandem helps balance automation and personal engagement. Workflows handle the initial qualification and task automation, while Sequences take over when a manual sales touch is required.
Marketing-Qualified Lead (MQL) Handoff: A Workflow assigns a lead to a sales rep when they reach a qualification threshold (e.g., multiple website visits, content downloads). The rep then enrolls them in a Sequence with personalized outreach.
Lead Qualification & Follow-Up: A Workflow scores leads based on engagement and assigns them to sales. Sequences ensure structured follow-ups, so reps focus on qualified prospects.
Sales Rep Reminders: Workflows trigger internal notifications, reminding sales reps to enroll contacts in Sequences at the right time.
Re-Engagement: Workflows nurture inactive leads through marketing emails. If a lead engages (e.g., opens an email, clicks a link), a rep can manually enroll them in a Sequence for direct follow-up.
Event & Webinar Follow-Ups: Workflows send general follow-ups to attendees. Those who engage are flagged for sales reps to enroll in a Sequence.
Product Trial Engagement: A Workflow tracks trial users’ activity. Active users get enrolled in a Sequence with educational content and sales outreach, while inactive users receive automated nudges.
Renewals & Upsells: Workflows monitor customer activity for churn risks or upsell opportunities. If flagged, a rep follows up with a Sequence to address concerns or offer upgrades.
Choosing the Right Automation Tool for Best Results
HubSpot Workflows and Sequences aren’t competing tools; rather, they serve different purposes and work best together. Workflows automate broad processes across marketing, sales, and customer service, ensuring consistency across large-scale efforts. Meanwhile, Sequences help sales teams stay on top of one-to-one outreach, making follow-ups structured yet personal.
However, automation should enhance, not replace, human interaction. Overusing it can make leads feel like they’re engaging with a system rather than a person. That’s why balance is key. Automate where it makes sense, but keep the human element where it matters.
Finding the right mix of Workflows and Sequences takes testing and refinement. Take a closer look at your processes, see where automation adds value, and make adjustments that keep your outreach both efficient and personal.
Looking to Optimize Your HubSpot Investment?
LZC, A Boutique Technical HubSpot Agency Tailored for B2Bs Can Help!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Do HubSpot Workflows and Sequences only work with emails?
No. While both tools are commonly used for email automation, they also handle other tasks. Workflows can assign tasks, update properties, score leads, send internal notifications, and trigger integrations. Sequences, on the other hand, include task reminders for calls or LinkedIn messages, making them useful beyond email follow-ups.
Can I use both Workflows and Sequences at the same time?
Yes, and often you should. Workflows handle broad automation like lead assignment or marketing nurture campaigns, while Sequences manage one-to-one sales follow-ups. For example, a Workflow can assign a lead to a rep, who can then enroll them in a Sequence for structured outreach.
Can I A/B test emails in Workflows and Sequences?
Workflows support A/B testing for automated emails in Marketing Hub Professional and Enterprise plans. Sequences don’t have built-in A/B testing, but reps can manually adjust messaging based on engagement.
Are there limits to how many Workflows or Sequences I can create?
Yes, but the limits depend on your HubSpot plan. HubSpot caps the number of active Workflows and Sequences, so check your subscription details.
Can I use Workflows to automate sales outreach instead of Sequences?
Not exactly. Workflows can automate sales-related tasks like lead assignment and CRM updates, but they don’t provide the structured follow-up emails that Sequences offer.
